The Federal Plan

for Meteorological Services

and Supporting Research

Fiscal Year 2000

OFCM

The Federal Plan

for Meteorological Services

and Supporting Research

Fiscal Year 2000

OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL

COORDINATOR

FOR METEOROLOGY

OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL

COORDINATOR

FOR METEOROLOGY

FCM P1-1999 FCM P1-1999

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration
THE FEDERAL COMMITTEE FOR

METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH (FCMSSR)

DR. D. JAMES BAKER, Chairman

Department of Commerce

DR. ROSINA BIERBAUM

Office of Science and Technology Policy

MR. ALBERT PETERLIN

Department of Agriculture

MR. JOHN J. KELLY, JR.

Department of Commerce

CAPT DAVID MARTIN, USN

Department of Defense

DR. ARISTIDES PATRINOS

Department of Energy

DR. ROBERT M. HIRSCH

Department of the Interior

MR. RALPH BRAIBANTI

Department of State

MR. RANDOLPH LYON

Office of Management and Budget

MR. MONTE BELGER

Department of Transportation

MR. MICHAEL J. ARMSTRONG

Federal Emergency Management Agency

DR. GHASSEM R. ASRAR

National Aeronautics and Space

Administration

DR. ROBERT W. CORELL

National Science Foundation

MR. BENJAMIN BERMAN

National Transportation Safety Board

MS. MARGARET V. FEDERLINE

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

DR. NORINE NOONAN 

Environmental Protection Agency

MR. SAMUEL P. WILLIAMSON

Federal Coordinator 

MR. JAMES B. HARRISON, Executive Secretary

Office of the Federal Coordinator for

Meteorological Services and Supporting Research

THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR

METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH (ICMSSR)

MR. SAMUEL P. WILLIAMSON, Chairman

Federal Coordinator

DR. RAYMOND MOTHA

Department of Agriculture

MR. JOHN E. JONES, JR.

Department of Commerce

CAPT DAVID MARTIN, USN

Department of Defense

MR. RICKEY PETTY

Department of Energy

MR. LEWIS T. MOORE

Department of the Interior

MR. JEFFREY MACLURE

Department of State

MR. DAVID WHATLEY

Federal Aviation Administration

Department of Transportation

DR. JONATHAN M. BERKSON

United States Coast Guard

Department of Transportation

MR. FRANCIS SCHIERMEIER

Environmental Protection Agency

MR. JOHN GAMBEL

Federal Emergency Management Agency

DR. RAMESH KAKAR

National Aeronautics and Space

Administration

DR. RICHARD S. GREENFIELD

National Science Foundation

MR. DONALD E. EICK

National Transportation Safety Board

MS. LETA A. BROWN

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

MS. KIMBERLY NEWMAN

Office of Management and Budget

MR. JAMES B. HARRISON, Executive Secretary

Office of the Federal Coordinator for

Meteorological Services and Supporting Research

Special Thanks for the pictures displayed on the cover.

1) Background: NWS map of tornadic activity and tracks from National Severe Storms Laboratory web site.

2) Radar: Radar reflectivity image from the Twin Lakes, Oklahoma WSR-88D Radar (KTLX) at 718 PM CDT,

May 3, 1999 (NWS Norman WFO web site).

3) Tornado photo: A killer tornado roars into south Oklahoma City Monday, May 3, 1999. The tornado killed at least

40 people and destroyed hundreds of homes in central Oklahoma. (Photo by Jerry Laizure)

4) Aerial photo provided by Oklahoma Department of Civil Emergency Management from the Oklahoma Wing Civil

Air Patrol damage assessment fly over.
The Federal Plan

for Meteorological Services

and Supporting Research

FISCAL YEAR 2000

FEDERAL COORDINATOR

FOR

METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH

8455 Colesville Road, Suite 1500

Silver Spring, MD 20910

FCM-P1-1999

JUNE 1999

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Editor: Blaine Tsugawa

Assistant Editor: Kenneth Barnett

PREFACE iii

PREFACE

Since 1965, the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting

Research (OFCM) has developed a federal plan that articulates the provision of meteorological services

and supporting research by agencies of the federal government. This years plan provides Congress and

the Executive Branch with a comprehensive document that documents proposed programs for FY 2000

and reviews agency programs in Fiscal Year (FY) 1999. Narratives, timelines, and schedules are current

as of June 1999.

With this edition, we conclude our effort to enhance and upgrade the plan's format and presentation of information. Overall, the content of the publication remains unchanged with resource information

being the major focus. Under the federal coordination process, the emphasis shifts from a description of

committee and working group activities to a broader description of OFCM initiatives and programs. As

with last year's edition, the Executive Summary contains information which enables it to serve as a standalone report. This year's feature article (Section 1) draws national attention to activities associated with

Natural Disaster Reduction. Section 2 summarizes the resources requested in the President's FY 2000

Budget and includes a comparison with those resources that Congress appropriated for FY 1999.

Section 5 contains departmental and agency narratives on meteorological services and supporting

research programs including information on programs funded by the National Science Foundation.

Appendices A through D describe the OFCM's coordination, program, and planning activities; defines

acronyms and abbreviations; lists previous feature articles; and summarizes the World Weather Program. 

As the 21st Century approaches, I would like to reaffirm OFCM's commitment to addressing

meteorological issues of significant importance to this Nation. Our revised interagency coordinating

infrastructure is in place and ready to address the priorities, issues, and concerns expressed by the federal agencies. The Federal and Interdepartmental Committees for Meteorological Services and Supporting

Research (inside-front cover) will continue to provide policy and program guidance to OFCM. The program councils and standing committees will assume increased strategic planning responsibilities; the

Working and Joint Action Groups will aggressively pursue resolution of specific, time-critical issues and

work short-term projects. The restructured OFCM organization is shown on the inside-back cover. 

Lastly, I extend my gratitude to those who provided photographs and contributed other supporting

materials used throughout this edition. The pictures and graphics, especially, are significant enhancements to the publication.

Samuel P. Williamson

Federal Coordinator for Meteorological

Services and Supporting Research

v

THE FEDERAL PLAN FOR METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES

AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH, FISCAL YEAR 2000

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii

Section 1. NATURAL DISASTER REDUCTION--Reducing the Impacts of Natural Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Section 2. RESOURCE INFORMATION AND AGENCY PROGRAM UPDATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Agency Obligations for Meteorological Operations

and Supporting Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Department of Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Department of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Department of Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Department of the Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Department of Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Environmental Protection Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

National Aeronautics and Space Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Nuclear Regulatory Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Agency Funding by Budget Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Agency Funding by Service Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Personnel Engaged in Meteorological Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Interagency Fund Transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Facilities/Locations for Taking Meteorological Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Section 3. AGENCY METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES AND SUPPORTING 

RESEARCH PROGRAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Department of Commerce Weather Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

National Weather Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

National Ocean Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Office of NOAA Corps Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Department of Defense Weather Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

United States Air Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

United States Navy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

United States Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Department of Transportation Weather Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Federal Aviation Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Federal Highway Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

United States Coast Guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Department of Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Department of Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95

Department of the Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105

Department of State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Environmental Protection Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111

Federal Emergency Management Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

National Aeronautics and Space Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

Nuclear Regulatory Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125

National Science Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

APPENDICES

A. FEDERAL COORDINATION AND PLANNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129

B. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

C. LISTING OF PREVIOUS FEATURE ARTICLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

D. WORLD WEATHER PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147

LIST OF TABLES 

ES-1 Federal Budget for Meteorological Operations and Supporting

Research, FY 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iv

2.1 Meteorological Operations and Supporting Research 

Costs, by Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

2.2 Agency Operational Costs, by Budget Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

2.3 Agency Supporting Research Costs, by Budget Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

2.4 Agency Operational Costs, by Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

2.5 Agency Supporting Research Costs, by Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

2.6 Personnel Engaged in Meteorological Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

2.7 Interagency Fund Transfers for Meteorological 

Operations and Supporting Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

2.8 Facilities/Locations for Taking Meteorological Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

3-1 Projected Satellite Launch Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

vi
For Fiscal Year (FY) 2000, the

President's budget requests $2.71 billion for meteorological services and

supporting research. Of the total

requested, $2.31 billion is designated

for operations and $402 million for

supporting research. Table ES-1 lists a

breakout of the FY 2000 budget proposal. 

Consistent with previous year's

requests, the Departments of

Commerce (DOC), Defense (DOD),

and Transportation (DOT) are projected to receive 91 percent of the funds.

The distribution among these three

departments is the DOC, with the

largest portion, accounts for 50.7 percent, DOD 24.5 percent, and DOT

15.8 percent. The remaining 9 percent

is distributed among the other federal

agencies. 

In comparison to the $2.46 billion

appropriated in FY 1999, the FY 2000

request represents an increase of

10.1 percent. DOC's request represents an increase of 3.5 percent, DOD's

an increase of 43 percent, and DOT's a

decrease of 1.1 percent. The DOC

increase is attributable to the

146.3 percent increase for

Procurement, Acquisition, and

Construction first-year funding for

GEOSTORM. GEOSTORM is the

Administration's follow-on to the

Advanced Composition Explorer satellite and will enable NOAA to double

the warning lead time for geomagnetic

storms headed toward Earth. The

DOD increase is attributable to a

196 percent increase in DMSP operations and 33.4 percent increase in

Army operational support for systems

acquisition. DOT's decrease is associated mainly with reductions in FAA

costs for operations.

The budget requests for the other

departments are as follows: The

Department of the Interior an increase

of 37.5 percent, the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) an increase

of 12.3 percent, the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA) an increase of 2.7 percent, no

change for the Department of

Agriculture (USDA) and the Nuclear

Regulatory Commissions (NRC) a

decrease of 36.4 percent.

EXEC SUM vii

THE FEDERAL PLAN FOR METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES

AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH

FISCAL YEAR 2000

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Table ES-1. Federal Budget for Meteorological Operations and Supporting

Research, FY 2000 (in thousands of dollars)

% of Supporting % of % of

Agency Operations TOTAL Research TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL

Agriculture $12,600 0.5 $15,500 3.9 28,100 1.0

Commerce 1,300,982 56.4 74,241 18.5 1,375,223 50.7

Defense 589,240 25.5 75,208 18.7 664,448 24.5

Interior 1,100 0.0 0 0.0 1,100 0.0

Transportation 401,633 17.4 26,457 6.6 428,090 15.8

EPA 0 0.0 6,400 1.6 6,400 0.2

NASA 2,440 0.1 204,150 50.8 206,590 7.6

NRC 70 0.0 0 0.0 70 0.0

TOTAL 2,308,065 100.0 401,956 100.0 2,710,021 100.0
viii EXEC SUM

Figure ES-1. Agency Percent of Total FederalBudget for Meteorological Operations

and Supporting Research, FY 2000

EPA

0.2%

USDA

1.0%

DOC

50.7%

NASA

7.6%

DOT

15.8%

DOD

24.5%

Figure ES-3. Agency Percent of Federal Budget

for Supporting Research, FY 2000

USDA

3.9%

DOD

18.7% EPA

1.6%

DOC

18.5%

DOT

6.6%

NASA

50.8%

Figure ES-2. Agency Percent of Federal Budget for

Meteorological Operations, FY 2000

DOD

25.5%

USDA

0.5% DOT

17.4%

NASA

0.1%

DOC

56.4%
EXEC SUM ix

Figure ES-1 depicts each agency's

proportion of the requested FY 2000

federal budget for meteorological

operations and supporting research.

Each agency's portion of the requested

funding for meteorological operations

is shown in Figure ES-2. Of the

$2.31 billion requested for meteorological operations, DOC, DOD, and

DOT account for slightly over 99 percent of the funds. Overall, operational

costs increased by 11.9 percent. Figure

ES1 depicts each agency's portion of

the requested proposed federal supporting research budget. Unlike operations, DOC, DOD, and NASA

account for the major share (88 percent) of the supporting research budget. Requests for increases in supporting research funds are: DOC 2.8 percent, DOT 49.9 percent, EPA 12.3 percent, and NASA 3.0 percent. The

DOD request for supporting research

funds decreases by 15.6 percent.

All agencies project a personnel total

of 16,204 full-time equivalent (FTE) to

be employed in federal meteorological

operations in FY 2000. This figure

represents a decrease of 2.2 percent

from the 16,566 FTE employed in

FY 1999.

Major Programs of DOC, DOD, and

DOT

Next Generation Weather Radar

(NEXRAD). The NEXRAD Program

which began in FY 1981 was responsible for procurement, installation, and

operation of the Weather Surveillance

Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D). The

first limited production WSR-88D system was installed at Oklahoma City,

Oklahoma in May 1990 and commissioned 4 years later in February 1994.

The original program plan called for a

total of 161 radars. In response to a

National Research Council report,

three additional radars were added and

raised the total to 164 radar sites. The

last system in the basic procurement

schedule was installed in June 1996.

By agency, as of June 1999, the

DOC/National Weather Service had

commissioned 123 sites, the

DOD/USAF had commissioned 19

sites, and the DOT/FAA had commissioned 11 sites. DOD has three systems at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, for

training; DOC/NWS has one each at

the National Reconditioning Center,

and NWS Training Center in Kansas

City, Missouri and at the Operational

Support Facility, Oklahoma City,

Oklahoma.

Automated Surface Observing

System (ASOS). The ASOS program,

began in 1983, as a joint development

effort between the DOC, DOD, and

DOT/FAA. Installation of ASOS units

started in 1991. As of June 1999, a

total of 993 units have been purchased.

The NWS has purchased 314 units,

and accepted 314 units, and commissioned 311 sites. The FAA has purchased 569 units, accepted 554 units,

and commissioned 426 sites. The

Navy has purchased 76 units, accepted

76 units, and commissioned 76 sites.

The Air Force has purchased 34 units,

accepted 32 units, and commissioned

31 sites. Collectively, a total of 844

ASOS sites have been commissioned.

Automated Weather Information

Systems (AWIS).

The DOC, DOD, and DOT require

AWISs to facilitate the collection, processing, and interpretation of meteorological data. AWISs are being procured to provide an automated, highspeed, user-friendly man/machine

interface to access and process large

volumes of sophisticated meteorological data. AWIS supports the timely

production of accurate and geographically precise warnings, forecasts, and

special tailored products. They also

provide the communications capability

for expeditious product dissemination.

Major agency systems classified as

AWISs are: NOAA's Advanced Weather

Interactive Processing System (AWIPS),

FAA's Weather and Radar Processor

(WARP), Air Force's Tactical Observing

and Forecasting System (TOFS), and

Navy's Naval Integrated Tactical

Environmental Subsystem (NITES).

In February 1997, the Secretary of

Commerce approved the limited

deployment of AWIPS. This decision

authorized NOAA to procure and

deploy 21 systems. The group of 21

limited deployment systems were

installed in November 1997 through

March 1998. A second group of 19

limited deployment systems were

installed in June through August 1998.

On April 9, 1998, the Secretary authorized full scale production and deployment of AWIPS, through Build 4.2, for

the remaining 95 systems. Installation

of these 95 systems began in

September 1998 and was completed in

June 1999. An Operational Test and

Evaluation of the commissioning software (Build 4.2) was successfully conducted from mid-May through June

1999. AWIPS commissioning is

expected to begin in January 2000.

The FAA's Weather and Radar

Processor (WARP) will greatly

enhance the dissemination of aviation

weather information throughout the

NAS. WARP will automatically create

unique regional, WSR-88D-based,

mosaic products and send these products, along with other time-critical

weather information, to controllers

through the Advanced Automation

System (AAS) as well as to pilots via

the aeronautical data link.

The Air Force is modernizing and

improving strategic, operational, and

combat level systems. Modernization

programs include the Tactical

Observing and Forecasting System

(TOFS) which provides a single system for both garrison and deployed

operations. TOFS will replace AWDS

and consists of two components: the

Tactical Forecast System (TFS) and

the Manual Observing System (MOS).

TOFS will serve as an in-garrison system as well as a deployable "first-in"

combat weather forecast capability.

MOS is a single-person portable

observing system containing essential,

basic observing equipment.

The Navy continues procurement or

upgrades of the five subsystems to the
x EXEC SUM

Naval Integrated Tactical Environmental System (NITES). These subsystems include: NITES I  Tactical

Environmental Support System

(TESS/NC), NITES II - Joint TESS

Remote Workstation (J-TRWS) and

Joint METOC Segment (JMS), NITES

III - METOC Integrated Data Display

System (MIDDS), NITES IV - Interim

Mobile Oceanography Support System

(I-MOSS), and NITES V - Allied

Environmental Support System

(AESS).

Other Agency Programs

For FY 2000, the Department of

Agriculture (USDA) requested

$28.1 million for meteorological operations ($12.6 million) and supporting

research ($15.5 million).

Operationally, the USDA supports specialized weather observation networks

and also conducts an active supporting

research program to ensure an abundance of high-quality agricultural commodities while minimizing the adverse

effects of agriculture on the environment. Under supporting research,

USDA focuses on the interactions of

weather and climate with plant and

animal production and water resources

management.

The Department of Interior's (DOI)

FY 2000 request is $1.1 million primarily to support the Bureau of Land

Management's remote automatic

weather station (RAWS) program.

The budget request for the

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) remains level at $6.4 million to

provide user-appropriate and scientifically credible air-quality meteorological programs to support regulatory

applications.

NASA's FY 2000 request is for

$206.6 million. Of the total,

$176.3 million is primarily for supporting research associated with the

Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) program. These funding levels are composed of the estimated meteorology

share of the supporting research and

analysis programs, to include the Earth

Observing System (EOS) and Earth

Probe instruments, EOS science, and

the EOS Data and Information

Systems (EOSDIS). Included in

NASA's request is $30.25 million for

special programs under the category of

aviation weather supporting research.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) request for $70,000 is

mainly for operations. The NRC will

dedicate these funds to obtain and analyze meteorological data and information related to the safe operation of

nuclear facilities, and the protection of

the environment, public health, and

safety.

Federal Coordination Activities

During FY 1999, OFCM implemented a restructuring of the interagency

coordinating process which reduces

the number of groups and results in a

better fit with agencies' perspectives

and 21st Century focus areas and priorities. Under the restructuring, the

FCMSSR and ICMSSR continue to

provide policy and program guidance

to OFCM on the most important crosscutting issues and support for those initiatives where the end value has a clear

societal benefit. The National Space

Weather and National Aviation

Weather Program Councils remain the

same. The standing committees

become: Environmental Services,

Operations and Research Needs;

Climate Monitoring and Services;

Operational Processing Centers;

Integrated Observing Systems;

Environmental Information Systems

and Communications; and Cooperative

Research. Working Groups were

reduced in number and cover broader

areas; Joint Action Groups are established for limited periods of time to

focus on specific issues.

Implementation included identifying

Chairpersons and members for

OFCM's standing committees,

Working Groups, and Joint Action

Groups to get stronger participation

from many agencies; preparing Terms

of References for each group; identifying important issues; and arranging for

meetings of the interagency groups.

The expanded responsibilities of the

office related to the recently approved

changes to OFCM's interagency coordinating structure include high pay-off

areas such as natural disaster reduction, aviation safety, urban meteorology and air quality, marine and ocean

environmental services, weather support to surface transportation, climate

services, the Year 2000 computer problem, radio spectrum policy, information dissemination technologies, integrated observing systems, and ensuring a long-term climate record.

OFCM worked very closely with the

FHWA Director of Operations and senior staff to discuss coordination of

weather requirements for surface transportation. On behalf of the

Interdepartmental Committee for

Meteorological Services and

Supporting Research (ICMSSR),

OFCM formed a Joint Action Group

for Weather Information for Surface

Transportation (WIST) to focus on

requirements for surface transportation. OFCM is planning a National

Symposium for WIST on November

30 - December 2, 1999, that will

include participants from federal agencies, state DOTs, urban transit authorities, trade associations, and the private

sector to address needs and requirements for WIST. A draft consolidated

requirements document for WIST will

be completed by next summer.

On February 8-12, 1999, OFCM hosted

the 53rd Interdepartmental Hurricane

Conference (IHC) in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The IHC objectives were to: (1) build the

conference around the theme of natural

disaster reduction; (2) increase federal

agency participation; (3) include, for the

first time, members of the user community, specifically, the emergency management community; and (4) create a forum

(breakout sessions) for all conference participants to provide input/feedback into the

forecast and warning process. The conference was highly successful and the action
EXEC SUM xi

items from the breakout sessions, which

were structured after the natural disaster

reduction theme, will help shape the hurricane forecast and warning agenda into the

next century. Overall, conference attendance increased by 67 percent. The 54th

IHC is scheduled for February 14-18,

2000, in Houston, Texas.

The FY 2000 feature article is entitled "Natural Disaster Reduction--

Reducing the Impacts of Natural

Hazards and focuses attention on the

impacts of meteorological natural

hazards and disasters.

During FY 1999, OFCM continued its

mutually beneficial interactions with the

National Research Council/National

Academy of Sciences. OFCM's activities

in aviation weather have been influenced

by the earlier NRC Committee on

National Aviation Weather Services report

Aviation Weather Services - A Call for

Federal Leadership and Action. Staff

Directors of the NRC National Weather

Service Modernization Committee and

Board on Atmospheric Sciences and

Climate (BASC) attend OFCM's

FCMSSR and ICMSSR meetings. At its

December 1998 ICMSSR meeting, NRC

reports and recommendations were given

on the Future of the National Weather

Service Cooperative Observer Network

and The Atmospheric Sciences Entering

the Twenty-First Century, including the

recommendation that OFCM take a leadership role in developing a strategic viewpoint to shape an increasingly distributed

national structure for providing atmospheric information from a variety of governmental and private sector organizations. OFCM provided funding for and

participated in the BASC Summer Study

(June 29 - July 2, 1999, Woods Hole,

Massachusetts) on transition from

research to operations. OFCM and BASC

have also arranged to hold a joint

FCMSSR/BASC meeting. It will held

October 25, 1999, in the National

Academy of Sciences Building on

Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC.
SECTION 1

INTRODUCTION 

The United Nations declared the

1990's to be the International Decade

for Natural Disaster Reduction

(IDNDR). The IDNDR is based on the

premise that so-called natural disasters

are primarily social in origin. While

natural hazards, like earthquakes,

storms, floods, drought, and other geophysical extremes are inevitable, disasters reflect societies' ways of doing

business. They result from decisions

and policies on land use, engineering

practice, ecosystem management, and

social institutions and frameworks. As

a result, disasters evolve rapidly in

response to great societal change--population increase, economic growth, the

globalization of commerce, technological advances, and other trends now

underway worldwide.

The United States estimate for natural disaster-related economic losses is

approximately $1 billion per week.

While this estimate appears to be high,

it is only two-thirds of 1 percent of the

United States gross domestic product 

(GDP). By contrast, the Chinese loss

from flooding in 1998 is in the range of 

5-7 percent of GDP. For smaller

nations, such as those in the Caribbean

and Central America, a single event,

e.g., Hurricane Mitch (Figure 1-1), can

produce losses comparable to 50 percent of GDP. The threat is not confined only to developing nations.

Estimates suggest that a repeat of the

Great Kanto earthquake (1923) would

today cost Japan well over one trillion

dollars--a significant fraction of its

total economy. Munich Reinsurance

figures show a doubling or tripling of

economic losses worldwide over each

of the last several decades. Their estimates suggest that losses for 1995,

which included the Kobe earthquake,

approached $180 billion, and 1998 was

the most costly year ever for weatherrelated disasters, with losses from this

source alone approaching $90 billion.

The United States loss experience

reflects similar global trends. For hurricane damage alone, costs seem to be

rising almost exponentially

(Figure 12).

Although the United States was

already addressing the effects of natural disasters, the IDNDR program

helped focus the need for a coordinated natural disaster reduction program.

The National Science and Technology

Council's Committee on the

Environment and Natural Resources

formed the Subcommittee for Natural

Disaster Reduction (SNDR) which

brought together 19 federal agencies

with the goal to initiate interagency

coordination of research efforts to

address natural disaster reduction

needs. In December 1996, SNDR published Natural Disaster Reduction: A

Plan for the Nation to highlight ongoing federal research efforts in this science and technology field and to identify new and promising areas where

there might be gaps in federal support.

Early on, coordinated international

efforts were focused on three targets:

identify hazards, assess risk, and promote research; develop and implement

mitigation plans; and implement

regional warning and dissemination

systems. Over the past decade, the

United States has made significant

progress with respect to the first two

targets and substantially improved

regional warning and dissemination

systems. The following paragraphs

contain examples for all three targets.

IDENTIFY HAZARDS, ASSESS

RISK, AND PROMOTE RESEARCH

Hazard identification and risk assessment are the essential first steps. In a

NATURAL DISASTER REDUCTION

--Reducing the Impacts of Natural Hazards

SECTION 1 1

DISASTERS--

disruptions of entire communities, persisting after the hazard

has come and gone, and

exceeding the communities'

ability to recover unaided.

Figure 1-1. Hurricane Mitch

approaching Honduras on

October 26, 1998 at 13:15 UTC

(Source: NASA/GSFC)

Figure 1-2. United States Hurricane

damage by decades. 

This article was prepared by the OFCM staff in collaboration with Dr. William Hooke, OAR,

and Ms. Keli Tarp, NOAA Public Affairs.
2 SECTION 1

specific application, the Federal

Emergency Management Agency

(FEMA), in partnership with the

National Institute for Building

Sciences has developed HAZard US

(HAZUS) a geographic information

system (GIS)-based computer program

to estimate earthquake losses. HAZUS

incorporates classification systems for

buildings. The methodology is already

being used in the San Francisco Bay

and greater New York City areas.

FEMA is currently generalizing the

software to incorporate hydrometeorological hazards and is training state and

local officials to use HAZUS.

More than 100 experts from many

institutions and disciplines, under the

leadership of the Natural Hazard

Research and Applications

Information Center (NHRAIC), have

worked for more than 5 years to conduct a Second Research Assessment.

(This supersedes the First Research

Assessment, carried out more than two

decades ago). The assessment

attempts to pull together, in one summary document, what is known about

the evolving nature and causes of natural disasters. During late spring 1999,

they published a summary of their

findings. The overall assessment is

that, by and large, most of the roots of

natural disasters are not geophysical or

even engineering, but rather societal in

origin. Furthermore, decisions with

respect to natural disaster reduction

cannot be made in isolation but must

be made in a larger context of sustainable development and other societal

goals.

DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT

MITIGATION PLANS

During the past decade, the United

States, with FEMA leadership, has

made a shift in policy emphasis from

reliance on emergency response and

reconstruction alone to increasing preevent efforts to mitigate the impacts of

natural hazards.With state and local

emergency managers, FEMA developed a National Mitigation Strategy

and implemented Project Impact. The

goal of Project Impact is to "help communities protect themselves from the

devastating effects of natural disasters

by taking actions that dramatically

reduce disruption and loss."

Through a relatively small direct

investment, FEMA has leveraged other

federal efforts and achieved a remarkable catalytic effect in local/privatesector action. Many other communities are beginning to take corresponding actions, even without federal

funding. As a result, the United States

is well on the way to developing a significant, sustained national mitigation

effort that should continue well into

the 21st Century. Detailed information

on Project Impact can be found on

FEMA's web site at www.fema.gov.

IMPLEMENTREGIONALWARNING

AND DISSEMINATION SYSTEMS

Throughout the 1990's, federal agencies, both independently and in coordinated programs, have taken steps to

provide extraordinary improvement in

their ability to forecast and warn of

coming hazards. Examples include: 

 volcanic activity--United States

Geological Survey (USGS) provides public notices of escalating

risk for volcanic activity and has

developed a color-coded risk

assessment based on the level of

activity. The Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), National

Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA), USGS,

and National Aeronautics and

Space Administration (NASA)

have instituted an operational capability to alert aircraft of the presence of volcanic ash plumes.

Geostationary and polar-orbiting

satellites observe plumes injected

into the atmosphere by volcanic

explosions, and nine worldwide

volcanic ash advisory centers,

including two in the United States,

issue real-time warnings. 

 earthquakes--Under the National

Earthquake Hazard Reduction

Program (NEHRP), FEMA,

National Institute for Standards and

Technology (NIST), National

Science Foundation (NSF), and

USGS are continuing to coordinate

actions to reduce the threat of earthquakes.

 landslides--USGS now provides

real-time landslide hazard maps via

its Internet web site (http://landslides.usgs.gov/). Advance warnings of major landslides are possible when the specific landslideprone regions are properly instrumented. More general statements

of the imminence of landslides are

possible where the water content of

the soil and the rainfall are adequately monitored.

 forest fires--The United States

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

and Department of the Interior

(DOI) work together with other

federal agencies and state and local

entities to reduce the forest fire

threat. Significant new resources

are now available for controlled

burns to reduce the fuel buildup in

the United States and therefore

reduce the threat of a major fire.

The Fire Potential Index (FPI) is a

valuable fire-management tool that

was developed by USGS scientists

in collaboration with scientists at

the United States Forest Service

(USFS). The FPI characterizes relative fire potential for forests,

rangelands, and grasslands, both

regionally and locally, so that land

managers can develop plans for

minimizing the threat from fires.

 tsunamis--NOAA has led an effort

with other federal agencies (FEMA

and USGS) and five Pacific states

(Alaska, California, Hawaii,

Oregon, and Washington) to mitigate the tsunami threat. The program provides improved tsunami

warnings, hazard identification and

risk assessment, and state and local

mitigation planning.
SECTION 1 3

 space weather--In a similar way,

several federal agencies (NOAA,

Air Force , NASA, and NSF) have

collaborated to reduce the threat to

spacecraft, electrical utilities, global telecommunications, and other

sectors affected by space weather.

Through xray imaging of the Sun,

instrumenting a site between the

Earth and Sun to detect solar flares,

and other measures, the United

States has increased warning times

and reduced false alarm rates.

 watershed protection--The USDA

established the Emergency

Watershed Protection (EWP) program to help protect lives and property threatened by natural hazards,

such as floods, hurricanes, and

wildfires. It is administered by the

USDA's Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS),

which provides technical and financial assistance to preserve life and

property threatened by excessive

erosion and flooding. Funds are

used to clear debris from clogged

waterways, to restore vegetation,

and to stabilize river banks, along

with a new option which provides

former agricultural land for floodplain easement. These easements

provide permanent restoration of

the natural floodplain hydrology as

an alternative to traditional

attempts to restore damaged levees,

lands, and structures, and removes

the parcel from eligibility for future

federal disaster assistance. In addition, the USDA Farm Service

Agency established the Flood Risk

Reduction Program to provide

incentives to move farming operations from frequently flooded land.

 hydrometeorological services--

Through the National Weather

Service (NWS) modernization and

associated restructuring, NOAA has

just completed a $4 billion investment

in satellites, radars, surface observing

networks, and information processing

to modernize NWS' ability to observe,

forecast, and warn of hydrometeorological hazards. These natural hazards

constitute 85 percent of the

Presidentially declared disasters and

account for 67 percent of the damage

suffered in the United States. As a

result, the United States now experiences improved weather warnings and

forecasts on time scales ranging from

tornado forecasts of tens of minutes, to

hurricane landfalls of a day or so, to

severe winter storm forecasts out to a

week or more. To improve

seasonal/interannual forecasts, the

United States has worked with other

nations to deploy and operate a global

network of buoys to monitor the ocean

changes responsible for triggering

El Niño, La Niña, and related seasonal to interannual changes in the patterns of severe weather worldwide. As

a result, the world enjoys its earliest

and best warnings to date of such

events. Estimates put the savings

resulting from successful anticipation

of the 1997-1998 El Niño event in the

$10 billion dollar range.

 Global Disaster Information Network

(GDIN). GDIN is the disaster information and decision support system of

the future. It will facilitate the cooperative exchange of timely and relevant

information and will be used during

mitigation, preparedness, response,

and recovery phases of emergency

management to save lives, reduce economic loss, and ensure the continuity

of critical infrastructure. In support of

GDIN, disaster information providers

and user agencies, from both the public and private sectors, are collaborating to design, implement, and operate

a disaster information network, first on

the national level and then expanding

to the international level (Figure 1-3). 

Overall, federal government expenditures for pre-event mitigation, observations, and warning systems have

increased at a rate of about $100 million annually, or about 15 percent per

year.

A METEOROLOGIST'S

VIEWPOINT

Within the state of the science, the

role of the meteorologist is to keep natural hazards from becoming natural

disasters. From an operational perspective, the process (Figure 1-4) has

four steps: 

 Observations (in whatever form)

are taken or acquired.

 From those observations, initial

conditions or findings are determined, and a series of products are

developed or services provided.

 Those products and services are

then delivered to the customer.

Figure 1-3. Notional GDIN Home page
4 SECTION 1

 The customer then reacts or does

"something" as a result of receiving

the product or service.

Ideally, there is feedback throughout

the process so that the meteorologist

can respond to deficiencies at any step

in the process. More or different

observations or faster and more reliable communications may be needed.

The criteria for forecast advisory and

warning products may need to be

adjusted, or we may need to better

understand how and why a customer

responds or chooses not to respond. At

the same time, we must tighten the

linkages with the research and technology communities to ensure that their

efforts are focused on addressing the

deficiencies identified within the operational process.

The Oklahoma City tornado outbreak

of May 3, 1999, provides an outstanding case study of the natural disaster

reduction operational process in

action. The key players are the

National Centers for Environmental

Prediction's Storm Prediction Center

(SPC) and the National Weather

Service Forecast Office in Norman,

Oklahoma (NWSFO Norman). The

following is excerpted from the

National Weather Service (NWS)

Service Assessment, Oklahoma/

Southern Kansas Tornado Outbreak of

May 3, 1999, August 1999.

Observations

The observational analysis provided

the initial indication that many elements of a classical Great Plains severe

weather outbreak were in place during

the afternoon and evening of

May 3, 1999. The synoptic-scale pattern was characterized by a large-scale

middle and upper tropospheric trough

over the western United States and a

downstream ridge to the east

(Figure 15). There was a strong

upper-level jet stream on the west side

of the trough, and moving through the

synoptic-scale trough were several

Figure 1-5. Significant features associated with the May 3, 1999, tornado outbreak. Depicted are the 4 p.m. CDT positions of the upper-level and low-level

jets, dryline, surface winds, and a mesoscale boundary in southwest Oklahoma.

Shaded area is where the Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE)

exceeded 3000 Joules kg-1.

(Source: NWS Service Assessment, Oklahoma/Southern Kansas Tornado Outbreak of

May 3, 1999, August 1997)

Figure 1-4. A Natural Disaster Reduction operational perspective linking observations, products/services, information dissemination, education/public outreach/response with research and technology.
SECTION 1 5

smaller scale short waves, the most

important of which was located along

the New Mexico/Texas border by late

afternoon. At the surface, a low pressure center was located along the

Wyoming/Colorado border, and a low

pressure trough extended southward

along the lee of the Rockies. In

response to the approaching jet stream

and short wave, several atmospheric

adjustments took place over the Plains.

The surface low and lee trough deepened throughout the afternoon. This

caused surface winds ahead of the dryline to strengthen and a strong lowlevel, southerly jet stream developed

from northwest Texas into Oklahoma,

allowing deep low-level moisture to

stream northward into Oklahoma and

Kansas. As surface heating proceeded

through the afternoon, mixing of the

shallow moisture over southwest Texas

moved the dryline to near the western

Oklahoma border. At the same time,

the lapse rates in the mid-troposphere

over Kansas and Oklahoma were

steepening, owing to the effects of the

approaching short wave. These factors

contributed to the development of the

large atmospheric instability and an

approaching upper-level jet produced

vertical wind sheer profiles favorable

for the development of supercell thunderstorms.

With an atmosphere conducive to the

development of supercell thunderstorms, the last element necessary was

a triggering mechanism. By late afternoon, two bulges developed along the

dryline--one located southwest of

Wichita Falls, Texas, and a second near

Woodward, Oklahoma. In addition, a

pool of cooler, drier air over central

Oklahoma resulted in a mesoscale

boundary which was oriented from

southwest Oklahoma to south-central

Oklahoma, separating the cooler air

from the very warm, moist air which

was streaming northward across western Oklahoma. The presence of the

dryline bulges and the mesoscale

boundary led to prolonged enhanced

moisture convergence which resulted

in explosive thunderstorm development over southwest Oklahoma by late

afternoon and northwest Oklahoma to

south-central Kansas by early evening

(Figure 16).

Products and Services

The potential for severe weather was

reflected in NWS forecast products as

early as 36 hours prior to the outbreak.

On May 2, the SPC's Day 2 Severe

Weather Outlook (SWO) (valid May 3)

predicted a slight risk for severe weather. At 6:30 a.m. on May 3, NWSFO

Norman issued a Thunderstorm

Outlook, noting a slight risk of severe

storms in western and central

Oklahoma that afternoon and night. It

mentioned the increasing low-level

moisture, dryline, and an approaching

upper-level low pressure would combine to cause a threat of hail, damaging

winds, and isolated tornadoes. It also

cautioned emergency managers and

spotter groups to be prepared for possible activation in the afternoon.

At 11:15 a.m., May 3, 1999, the SPC's

Day 1 SWO was upgraded to a moderate risk for severe thunderstorms in the

Oklahoma/Kansas outbreak area based

on the 7 a.m. upper-air soundings, midday wind profiler observations and the

Rapid Update Cycle II (RUC II) forecasts of instability and shear. From

mid-morning to mid-afternoon on

May 3, the vertical wind profiles from

the profiler at Tucumcari, New Mexico,

showed a descending and strengthening

jet approaching Oklahoma. The jet was

deeper, stronger, and lower in the

atmosphere than the forecasts from the

numerical models and favored development of supercells. It was the profiler

data that led SPC forecasters to upgrade

the SWO from moderate to high risk for

severe weather in the outbreak area and

caused F2 or stronger tornadoes to be

highlighted in the Experimental

Probabilistic Outlook. In the opinion of

the NWS Service Assessment Team,

without the wind profiler data, SPC

forecasters would not have upgraded

from moderate to high risk. Also the

state of readiness of NWS offices,

emergency managers, and the media in

the severe weather outbreak area would

not have been as high.

The SPC issued a Tornado Watch for

western and central Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City, at 4:30 p.m., valid

4:45 p.m. to 10 p.m. The first Severe

Thunderstorm Warning was issued by

NWSFO Norman at 4:15 p.m. Based

on Weather Surveillance Radar-1988

Doppler (WSR-88D) radar signatures,

the first Tornado Warning followed at

4:47 p.m. About 10 hours later, after the

main part of the event concluded,

NWSFO Norman had issued 70 tornado

warnings and 46 severe thunderstorm

warnings for 32 of the 56 counties within its county warning area (CWA).

NWSFO Norman was very successful

in giving the public significant advance

warning of the individual tornadoes.

They achieved a remarkable 32-minute

lead-time average for the first tornado

warning issued in each of the Oklahoma

City metropolitan area counties that was

affected by the F5 tornado. Warnings

for the Oklahoma City F5 tornado,

which hit Grady, McClain, Cleveland,

and Oklahoma Counties, were issued

with lead times of 65, 18, 31, and 13

minutes, respectively.

In addition to its excellent warning

support, NWSFO Norman kept the pubFigure 1-6. F3 tornado located 7 miles

south of Anadarko, Oklahoma on

May 3, 1999.

(Source: NSSL photograph by D.Zaras)
6 SECTION 1

lic informed with numerous Severe

Weather Statements (SVS), Short Term

Forecasts (NOW), and Local Storm

Reports (LSR). During the most active

period of this event (4 p.m. until midnight), 48 concise SVSs, 9 NOWs, and

14 LSRs were issued.

To heighten awareness of the severity

of the situation, NWSFO Norman

alarmed several SVSs on the NOAA

Weather Radio (NWR) and issued an

effective SVS at 6:57 p.m. that included

the words "TORNADO EMERGENCY"

in the headline.

The excellent lead times and overall

support provided by NWSFO Norman

can be attributed to several factors.

These included very good severe weather knowledge and radar interpretation

skills; modernized NWS equipment,

especially the WSR-88D and the

Advanced Weather Interactive

Processing System (AWIPS); a welltrained and widespread spotter network;

and the long-lived nature of several of

the tornadoes.

Information Dissemination

All NWS warnings, forecasts, and

statements were disseminated via the

NOAA Weather Wire Service

(NWWS), NOAA Weather Radio

(NWR), the Family of Services (FOS),

the Emergency Alert System (EAS),

the National Warning System

(NAWAS), the local amateur radio network, and the Emergency Managers

Weather Information Network

(EMWIN). NWS information was

also disseminated by local television

and radio stations, as well as through

the Internet and OK-FIRST

(Oklahoma's First-response

Information Resource System using

Telecommunications).

Local radio stations indicated that

NOAA Weather Radio information

was very helpful in their efforts to alert

the public, and emergency managers

were pleased with the severe weather

information supplied by the various

NWS dissemination systems. The

Deputy Director of the Oklahoma Civil

Emergency Management Agency stated that EMWIN provided prompt

information to the emergency managers during the event and that

EMWIN is one of the most valuable

emergency management tools to come

along in many years. The Oklahoma

Climatological Survey's OK-FIRST

was also cited by local emergency

managers as a very valuable tool during the outbreak. The OK-FIRST system provides Internet access to realtime WSR-88D radar data plus all

NWS text products.

In addition, NWSFO Norman's

strong partnership with the amateur

radio community in central and western Oklahoma proved to be very valuable during the outbreak. Amateur

radio information played a crucial role

in the warning process and in providing subsequent follow-up information

(SVSs and LSRs); 75 severe event

reports were received via the amateur

radio network. The forecast office's

amateur radios also provided an important backup capability during periods

when the phone service was interrupted.

Education, Public Outreach, and

Response

The fact that casualties were low

(compared to the many thousands that

were affected by the main Oklahoma

City tornado) is, in large part, attributable to the effective response of the

public to early NWS severe weather

warnings. To help enhance public

response, NWSFO Norman has conducted an aggressive preparedness

campaign for years in Oklahoma.

Within the 3 months prior to the outbreak, 32 spotter training classes were

held. In the 5-month period leading up

to the outbreak, the office hosted nine

tours, conducted four safety presentations, participated in three televised

safety shows, and presented two safety

displays (information booths) within

its CWA. NWSFO Norman has also

been active in Oklahoma's annual

severe weather awareness week.

The Oklahoma City radio and television stations also played a crucial role

in the effective public response. They

rapidly communicated NWS warnings,

gave hours of live coverage of spotter

reports, and provided aerial and

ground-level video of the tornadoes.

Using the cable television override

capability, the Moore city emergency

manager broadcast NWS warnings

(audio only) to the community. Many

radio stations provided simulcasts of

the live telecasts from the three primary television stations as the main

tornado approached the Oklahoma

City metropolitan area.

The effective public response saved

lives. In one instance, a Grady County

resident living in an area with primarily mobile homes credited the advance

NWSFO Norman warnings with saving many lives in his neighborhood.

...TORNADO EMERGENCY IN SOUTH OKLAHOMA CITY METRO

AREA...

AT 6:57 P.M. CDT...A LARGE TORNADO WAS MOVING ALONG

INTERSTATE 44 WEST OF NEWCASTLE. ON ITS PRESENT PATH...THIS

LARGE DAMAGING TORNADO WILL ENTER SOUTHWEST SECTIONS

OF THE OKLAHOMA METRO AREA BETWEEN 715 P.M. AND 730 P.M.

PERSONS IN MOORE AND SOUTH OKLAHOMA CITY SHOULD TAKE

IMMEDIATE TORNADO PRECAUTIONS!

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE THREATENING SITUATION.
SECTION 1 7

The early warning gave his family time

to gather neighbors into his storm cellar. Thirty-five people crammed into

the cellar. The winds of the F5 tornado pulled the cellar door open, but all

survived. Their mobile homes were

destroyed.

In another instance, a large

Oklahoma City area telecommunications company called NWSFO

Norman after the tornado to express

thanks for their assistance in updating

the company's severe weather safety

plan, completed prior to the tornado.

The new plan instructed employees not

to travel home during a tornado for

safety reasons. This was a significant

change from the previous plan, which

had allowed employees to go home.

The new plan may have saved lives

since the F5 tornado passed within

1 mile of the company.

Research and Technology

While technology was an important

key to NWSFO Norman's success, the

use of that technology also highlighted

the need for future improvements.

NOAA's National Severe Storms

Laboratory (NSSL) developed the

Warning Decision Support System

(WDSS), which provided useful information to the warning staff at NWSFO

Norman during the outbreak. WDSS

offers access to a full wide-band suite

of radar reflectivity and velocity data,

improved algorithm guidance, and

dynamic tables which rank storms

according to algorithm-derived severe

weather threats. The WDSS severe

storm cell tables and trend displays

focused the forecasters' attention on

those storms that could require warning, and WDSS displays of full resolution velocity products were confidence

builders for tornado warning decisions.

WDSS also incorporates advanced versions of the NSSL mesocyclone detection and tornado detection algorithms.

To fully complete the transition of this

technology into operations, however,

two upgrade projects are needed. The

NEXRAD Open systems Radar

Product Generator (ORPG) is required

to implement the advanced algorithms

and to provide high resolution products

to AWIPS, and the NEXRAD Open

systems Radar Data Acquisition

(ORDA) project will provide improved

base data (e.g., high resolution reflectivity and better anomalous propagation suppression).

AWIPS was also a success story.

Without AWIPS, it would have been

impossible to duplicate the number of

successful warnings and lead times and

to keep track of the large number of

severe storms. During the months

prior to the event, the NWSFO

Norman staff invested substantial

effort customizing preformats for

warnings and SVSs within the AWIPS

WarnGen module, to include the generation of detailed city boundary backgrounds, which obviously paid big dividends during the outbreak. AWIPS,

however, has shortfalls which can only

be remedied through research and

technology upgrades. AWIPS pixel

replication zoom distortion led forecasters to supplement WSR-88D

velocity data with alternate display

systems, e.g., WDSS. Improvements

in the rapid display of non-distorted

magnified WSR-88D products should

be a top priority. Also, NWSFO

Norman accessed, via the Internet, data

sets not available through AWIPS,

which helped forecasters focus on the

convective initiation over southwest

Oklahoma. One solution would be to

develop the methods/technology for

ingesting data sets into AWIPS via the

Local Data Acquisition and

Dissemination (LDAD) system.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

The decade of the 1990's has seen a

dramatic change in the way the United

States responds to natural hazards.

There has been a major shift in policy

toward increasing pre-event efforts

through programs like Project Impact,

improved information dissemination

systems, and public outreach and education programs to mitigate the

impacts of natural hazards rather than

relying on emergency response and

reconstruction alone. The United

States has also capitalized on research

and technology developments to significantly improve its ability to

observe, forecast, and provide timely

warnings of impending natural hazards. 

In the case of the May 3, 1999, tornado outbreak, a natural disaster was

not prevented, but with an effective

plan of action, the players were able to

positively shape the outcome. The

actions of the National Weather

Service, in partnership with state/local

emergency managers, local radio and

television stations, and amateur radio

operators, evoked an effective and

timely public response, which significantly reduced the impact of this devastating natural hazard. The bottom

Figure 1-7. Vehicle resting against tree

in Moore, Oklahoma, approximately 1/2

mile southwest of the Shields Boulevard

exit on Interstate 35.

(Source: NWS Photo by K. James)
SECTION 2

Table 2.1 contains fiscal information,

by agency, for meteorological operations and supporting research. The

table shows the funding level for

FY 1999 based on Congressional

appropriations, the budget request for

FY 2000, the percent change, and the

individual agencies' percent of the total

federal funding for FY 1999 and FY 2000.

DEPARTMENT OFAGRICULTURE

(USDA)

The USDA budget request for

FY 2000 is $28.1 million for operations and supporting research and represents no change from FY 1999. The

USDA assists the Department of

Commerce in determining farmers'

needs for weather information and in

disseminating the information to them.

Major USDA activities related to

weather observations include incremental modernization of the snow

telemetry (SNOTEL) system operated

by the Natural Resources Conservation

Service (NRCS) and the replacement

of manual fire rating stations with

remote automated weather stations

(RAWS) by the Forest Service. The

SNOTEL and RAWS networks provide cooperative data for NOAA's

river forecast activities, the irrigation

water supply estimates, and Bureau of

Land Management operations.

For supporting research, USDA

requested $15.5 million to focus on the

interactions of weather and climate

with plant and animal production and

water resources management. The goal

of supporting research is to develop and

disseminate information and techniques to ensure an abundance of highquality agricultural commodities and

products while minimizing the adverse

effects of agriculture on the environment. The research budget does not

include the coordinated effort with

EPA on ultraviolet radiation. The

Forest Service supports a research program, initiated in 1988, for a long-term

monitoring network to assess potential

effects of global climate change and

variability on forest health and productivity. Work also continues in forestry

ecological systems modeling.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

(DOC)

All reported DOC meteorological

activities are within the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA). The NOAA FY 2000 total

congressional request of $1.38 billion

for meteorological programs represents a 3.5 percent increase over the

FY 1999 appropriated funds. 

NOAA's FY 2000 operations and

supporting research requests for

major line-office activities are

described below:

Weather Services

For FY 2000, the National Weather

Service (NWS) requests a total

$706.6 million. The request represents

a net increase of $26 million from the

FY 1999 base level. This includes an

increase of $54.2 million in the

Operations, Research, and Facilities

(OR&F) Account and a decrease of

$29.7 million in the Procurement,

Acquisition, and Construction (PAC)

Account. Overall, the FY 2000 request

supports the funding and programmatic recommendations contained in the

NOAA Review/Kelly Report. Within

the amounts requested, NWS will

maintain warning and forecasts services, continue the Modernization and

Associated Restructuring, and invest in

new initiatives to modernize weather

observing systems and improve flood

forecasting.

Detailed Program Changes:

The FY 2000 net increase of

$54.2 million in the OR&F account

includes:

 an increase of $18.7 million to

account for Adjustments to Base

within NWS base operations,

including funding for the mandatory federal pay raise of 4.4 percent

and increases in employee benefit

rates.

 an increase of $1.0 million to continue mitigation actions per the

Secretary's Report Team recommendations on the adequacy of

NEXRAD Coverage and

Degradation of Weather Services

under NWS Modernization. In

FY 2000, The NWS will operate

Weather Forecast Offices (WFO)

in Caribou, Maine and Key West,

Florida and continue current operRESOURCE INFORMATION AND AGENCY PROGRAM UPDATES

The tables in this section summarize budgetary information of the federal government for fiscal years (FY) 1999 and

2000. The funds shown are those used to provide meteorological services and associated supporting research that has

as its immediate objective the improvement of these services. Fiscal data are current as of the end of June 1999 and are

subject to later changes. The data for FY 2000 do not have legislative approval and do not constitute a commitment by

the United States Government. The budget data are prepared in compliance with Section 304 of Public Law 87-843, in

which Congress directed that an annual horizontal budget be prepared for meteorological programs conducted by the

federal agencies.

AGENCY OBLIGATIONS FOR METEOROLOGICAL OPERATIONS 

AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH

SECTION 2 9
10 SECTION 2
SECTION 2 11

ations at Erie, Pennsylvania and

Williston, North Dakota.

 an increase of $9.6 million to support a total staffing level of

4,412 FTEs for the NWS as recommended in the NOAA Review.

 an increase of $1.7 million to

maintain and replace critical field

office equipment, provide the necessary level of training to field

forecasters, and maintain centralized communication and dissemination services.

 a decrease of $2.8 million to

reflect the completion of one-time

activities as mandated by Congress

during FY 1999, including the

installation of new NOAAWeather

Radio transmitters (-$1.6 million),

Susquehanna River Basin Flood

System (-$.6 million), Oklahoma

Climate Survey (-$.4 million), and

the Cooperative Institute at the

University of Utah in preparation

for the 2000 Olympics (-$2 million).

 an increase of $2.2 million to initiate the national implementation of

the Advanced Hydrologic

Prediction System beginning in the

Upper Midwest and tributaries

within the Ohio River basin.

 an increase of $1.0 million for

WFO Maintenance over FY 1999,

providing for basic facility service

contracts and corrective and preventive maintenance actions at

sites across the country.

 an increase of $1.5 million to

ensure the continuity of observations in support of the Nation's climate record and local forecasting,

through the initial replacement of

obsolete rain gage recording

devices and minimum/maximum

temperature sensors.

 an increase of $0.6 million to provide commercial aircraft observations (ACARS) for operational use

in numerical weather prediction

models.

 an increase of $0.9 million to operate and maintain the NWS network

of 123 NEXRAD units.

 an increase of $0.5 million to operate and maintain the NWS network

of 314 ASOS units.

 an increase of $25.8 million to

continue the operation and maintenance phase of the AWIPS program.

The FY 2000 net decrease of

$29.7 million for the PAC Account

includes:

 an increase of $2.6 million for

NEXRAD acquisition costs and to

support the NEXRAD product

improvement initiative.

 an increase of $0.3 million for

ASOS product improvement

efforts for developing and testing

new sensor capabilities.

 a decrease of $46.7 million for

AWIPS acquisition in accordance

with planned completion of the

acquisition program.

 an increase of $1.2 million for the

Central Computer Facility

Upgrade, providing for the 2nd of

four lease payments on the Class

VIII supercomputer and allowing

for the planned procurement of

interactive computer workstations.

 an increase of $6.4 million to support the Radiosonde Replacement

Network. The radiosonde network

is technologically obsolete and difficult to maintain.

Environmental Satellite, Data, and

Information Services

Proposed funding for FY 2000

includes an increase in the PolarOrbiting Satellite Program of

$21.1 million and an increase in the

Geostationary Satellite Program of

$1.5 million. These changes allow for

continuation of procurements to provide the spacecraft and instruments,

launch services, and ground systems

necessary to assure continuity of environmental satellite coverage. The

FY 2000 budget request will maintain

a system of polar-orbiting satellites

that obtains global data and a system of

geostationary satellites that provides

near-continuous observations of the

Earth's western hemisphere. Funding

is included for NOAA's share of the

converged NOAA and Department of

Defense (DOD) polar-orbiting system

that will replace the current NOAA

series and the DOD Defense

Meteorological Satellite Program

(DMSP).

A total of $4.0 million is requested to

continue the Ocean Remote Sensing

Program which began in FY 1995.

During the next several years, NOAA

will acquire data from foreign and

other non-NOAA satellites that will

provide measurement of ocean currents, surface winds and waves, subsurface temperature and salinity profiles, ice thickness and flows, and other

marine factors.

An increase of $1.9 million is included to maintain basic mission services

including maintenance and operation

of satellite ground facilities; provision

of satellite-derived products; and conduct of research to improve the use of

satellite data.

Budgetary changes netting to a

decrease of $8.8 million are included

in the Environmental Data

Management System subactivity. The

changes include an increase in base

operating funding (+$1.5 million) and

an increase to fund the Cooperative

Observer Network (+$1.5 million).

Decreases include elimination of funding for Regional Climatic Centers

(-2.8 million) and reductions in funding for Data Preservation (-$5.0 million) and the NOAA Virtual Data

System (-$4.0 million).

Office of Atmospheric Research

Requested funding for FY 2000,

which includes Solar-Terrestrial

Services and Research, is $47.05 milliona net increase of $0.6 million

from FY 1999. An upward base

adjustment of $0.6 million was made

to partially cover inflationary cost

increases. In addition, a decrease of

$1.5 million is proposed to terminate a

FY 1999 add-on for incorporating

wind profile data into forecast models.

This decrease is offset by an increase

of $1.5 million for the United States
12 SECTION 2

Weather Research Program which is

directed principally toward improving

predictions of hurricane track, landfall,

and intensity. Finally, an increase of

$4.34 million dollars is proposed under

Systems Acquisition in NOAA's

Procurement, Acquisition, and

Construction appropriation for firstyear funding for GEOSTORM, which

is the Administration's follow-on to the

Advanced Composition Explorer satellite. The new satellite will, through the

use of a solar sail, enable NOAA to

double the warning lead time for geomagnetic storms headed toward Earth.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

(DOD)

The DOD total budget request for

FY 2000 is $664.4 million. This total

represents a 43 percent increase in the

funding level from FY 1999. Specific

highlights for each of the military

departments are described below:

United States Air Force

United States Air Force (USAF)

resources for meteorological support

fall under four categories: general

operations, general supporting

research, DMSP operations, and

DMSP and National Polar-orbiting

Operational Environmental Satellite

System (NPOESS) supporting

research. The Air Force request

(including DMSP) for FY 2000 is

$456.8 million.

General Operations. The operations

portion of the FY 2000 budget request

is $163.4 million and represents a large

portion of the environmental support to

the DOD. These funds will pay for

weather and space environmental support to the USAF (both active duty and

reserve components), the United States

Army, nine unified commands, and

other agencies as directed by the Chief

of Staff of the Air Force. Over 4,900

people conduct these activities at over

200 worldwide locations. These people include active duty military, Air

Force reservists, Air National Guard

weather flight personnel, weather communications and computer specialists,

and civilians. General operations fund

the salaries of these people providing

weather support, and the day-to-day

operations and maintenance costs for

the support they provide.

General Supporting Research. The

FY 2000 budget request for Air Force

supporting research is $22.4 million.

The Air Force continues development

of the Cloud Depiction and Forecast

System II (CDFS II) and the Global

Theater Weather Analysis and

Prediction System (GTWAPS), and

research and development will begin

on the Tactical Weather Radar (TWR).

CDFS II will expand the computer processing capability of the current CDFS

at the Air Force Weather Agency

(AFWA) and will build a high resolution, worldwide cloud database which

will ingest and exploit all weather

satellite and sensor data received at

AFWA. GTWAPS will provide AFWA

and the DOD a theater modeling capability to support the warfighters. A

variety of other research efforts will

investigate the electrodynamics of the

Sun and Earth's magnetosphere, ionospheric dynamics, mesoscale meteorology, visible and infrared properties of

the environment, and cloud parameterization and prediction.

DMSP Operations. Though funding

for DMSP comes from the Air Force,

this system is the major source of

space-borne meteorological data for

the military services and other highpriority DOD programs. Environmental data from DMSP sensors is also

distributed to the NWS, National

Environmental Satellite, Data, and

Information Service (NESDIS), the

Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology

and Oceanography Center (FNMOC)

and the Naval Oceanographic Office

(NAVOCEANO), and AFWA according to the Shared Processing Program

agreement.

The operations portion of the

FY 2000 budget request is $271.9 million. The major portion of this funding

is for on-orbit operations, tactical terminal maintenance, and long-haul

communications. These funds also pay

operations costs for one dedicated

command and control facility. DMSP

funds for 65 military and civilian personnel associated with the operation

of, and to a much smaller extent, the

procurement of the DMSP system.

DMSP and NPOESS Supporting

Research. The FY 2000 budget for

DMSP R&D is $21.5 million. The

funds will be used for launch vehicle

integration; system integration and

testing; and mission sensor calibration,

validation, and algorithm development

efforts. The FY 2000 DOD R&D

budget for NPOESS is $80.1 million.

FY 2000 funds will be used for system

architecture studies and independent

risk reduction and technology development efforts, and to begin critical sensor and algorithm development.

NPOESS is scheduled to be available

in 2008 as a backup to the final launch

of the NOAA polar-orbiting satellites

and DMSP satellites. This system will

exploit advanced hardware and software technologies to produce a more

reliable, longer-lived spacecraft with

greater mission capability.

United States Navy

The United States Navy FY 2000

budget request for meteorological programs is $135.4 million. The request

includes $117.5 million for operational

programs and $17.9 million for supporting research. 

The Navy Meteorology and

Oceanography (METOC) program is

truly unique. Focussing support in the

highly environmentally complex

coastal/littoral regions around the

globe, Navy METOC is required to

provide an assessment of the impact of

weather and ocean phenomena on

weapon systems. Additionally, and just

as important, Navy METOC provides

for safe flight and navigation in support of Naval, joint, and combined

forces operating throughout the

world's oceans. This is done with a

cadre of highly-trained military and

civilian personnel, schooled in both the

sciences and warfighting applications.
SECTION 2 13

By teaming with and leveraging the

efforts of other agencies and activities,

Navy METOC meets these challenges

in a most cost-effective manner, providing a full spectrum of products and

services with only about 5 percent of

the federal weather budget. 

The Navy METOC program is

required to provide comprehensive and

integrated weather and ocean support

worldwide. The Oceanographer of the

Navy sponsors programs in four closely related disciplines  meteorology,

oceanography, geospatial information

and services, and precise time and

astrometry. All are used to protect

ships, aircraft, fighting forces, and

shore establishments from adverse

ocean and weather conditions, and to

provide a decisive tactical or strategic

edge by exploiting the physical environment to optimize the performance

and efficiency of platforms, sensors,

and weapons. 

Owing to the crucial interrelationship

of the oceans and the atmosphere, the

Navy requires various oceanographic

products to provide the requisite meteorological services. In addition to aviation and marine METOC support, the

Navy provides a variety of unique

services on demand, such as electrooptical, electro-magnetic and acoustic

propagation models and products,

METOC-sensitive tactical decision

aids, and global sea ice analyses and

forecasts.

Support to Navy operations is provided under the direction of the

Commander Naval Meteorology and

Oceanography Command located in

Stennis Space Center, Mississippi.

Naval METOC support starts with

sensing the battlespace physical environment and culminates with weapons

arriving on target and personnel operating in the battlespace without being

adversely affected by physical environmental phenomena. Operational

support for the Navy and Marine Corps

includes the day-to-day provision of

meteorological and oceanographic

(METOC) products and services. As

Naval operations in the littoral

increase, Navy and Marine Corps

METOC support is directed towards

providing on-scene capabilities to personnel that directly furnish environmental data for sensor and weapon system planning and employment. These

on-scene capabilities are key elements

for enabling the warfighters to take

advantage of the natural environment

as part of battlespace management.

Navy METOC systems acquisition is

accomplished through the Space and

Naval Warfare Systems Command,

San Diego, California. Several major

METOC operations support systems

are being procured or undergoing

upgrades.

Navy METOC Research and

Development (R&D) is cooperatively

sponsored by the Oceanographer of the

Navy and the Chief of Naval Research.

This area is not generally system-specific; instead, Navy R&D efforts typically have applications to meteorological, oceanographic, and/or tactical systems. Navy's tabulation of budget data

includes R&D funding for exploratory

research, demonstration, validation,

engineering, and manufacturing development.

Initiatives of the Navy and Marine

Corps, under sponsorship of the

Oceanographer of the Navy, transition

projects from exploratory development

to operational Naval systems. Such

efforts include advances in the Navy's

METOC forecasting capability,

enhancements to communications and

data compression techniques, further

development and improvement of

models to better predict METOC

parameters in littoral regions, and an

improved understanding of the impact

these parameters have on sensors,

weapon systems, and platform performance.

United States Army

The United States Army is requesting

$36.5 million for operational support

and $13.4 million in research and

development in FY 2000. Operational

support increases approximately

$9 million over the FY 1999 expenditures, research decreases about

$1.5 million from the previous year,

and staffing remains unchanged. The

cost increases in operational support

are found mainly in the $7 million

increase in systems acquisition costs

from FY 1999 to FY 2000 at United

States Army Europe (USAREUR), the

Training and Doctrine Command

(TRADOC) Meteorological Measuring Set (MMS) Profiler upgrade, and

the Integrated Meteorological System

(IMETS).

USAREUR estimates requirements

of $1.59 million to fund weather operations during FY 2000, with $772,000

for operational support, $600,000 for

systems acquisition to purchase

Portable Automated Observing

Systems, and $225,000 for special programs.

TRADOC has requested approximately $6.6 million for FY 2000.

TRADOC will spend $1.4 million for

operations support. The Artillery

School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, will

receive approximately $1.1 million of

these monies to conduct operational

soundings, support 23 military and

civilian personnel, and conduct training in the use of the AN/TMQ-41 MMS.

TRADOC's budget identifies approximately $5.1 million for system acquisition in FY 2000. Development and

testing costs associated with the MMS

Profiler upgrade will be $5 million for

FY 2000 and costs related to installation, operation and maintenance of the

Automated Surface Observing System

at the Aviation School will run

$100,000. TRADOC will spend

$860,000 in FY 2000 for special program costs related to instructors, evaluators, and operators at the Artillery

and Aviation Schools.

The IMETS Program continued

fielding of Block II systems in

FY 1999 and will build additional laptop and sheltered systems in FY 2000.

An IMETS budget of $7.2 million was

approved to fund the completion of a

total of 27 mounted Block II systems,
14 SECTION 2

to fund the acquisition of desktop

IMETS for theater weather teams, and

for the purchase of laptop IMETS systems for special forces, transportation

groups, and aviation battalion weather

teams.

The Eighth United States Army estimates requirements of $1.12 million to

fund weather operations during

FY 2000. This request includes

$680,000 for Army Artillery

Meteorological (ARTYMET) operations and $448,000 for USAF weather

support.

Forces Command (FORSCOM) will

spend approximately $8.5 million in

FY 2000 for operations support. Of

this amount, $1.1 million will be spent

for facilities, supplies, and travel for

FORSCOM weather teams and

$7.4 million will be in support of

FORSCOM ARTYMET operations.

In operational support for research,

development, test, and evaluation,

Army Materiel Command funding for

the Test and Evaluation Command

(TECOM) Meteorological (MET)

Teams in FY 1999 was $7.1 million at

10 ranges and sites. In FY 2000, funding increases slightly to $7.3 million

and support partnering with the

National Center for Atmospheric

Research (NCAR) to help sustain

TECOM leadership in meteorological

instrumentation and data displays and

for modeling and simulation efforts at

Dugway Proving Grounds. In basic

meteorological research, the Army

Research Laboratory, Battlefield

Environment Division, basic research

stays about constant at near $3.6 million at Adelphi Laboratory Center,

Maryland. The Army Research Office

saw a small increase from $1.2 million

to $1.5 million from FY 1999 to

FY 2000 for basic research. The Small

Business Innovative Research Program

and the Defense University Research

Instrumentation Program (DURIP)

were provided funds for selected

research projects.

Space and Missile Defense

Command (SMDC) activities will

require $2.8 million for operational

support and $500,000 for supporting

research in FY 2000. SMDC will

spend $420,000 in operational support

at the High Energy Laser Systems Test

Facility (HELSTF) for contract services to operate and maintain the instrumentation, equipment, and facilities to

support the atmospheric sciences/

meteorological mission. HELSTF will

also spend approximately $26,000 in

systems acquisition for repair and

replacement of meteorological instrumentation and for data services.

Contract support services to operate

the Kwajalein Missile Range will be

approximately $2.2 million for operations support and $100,000 for special

weather programs in FY 2000.

Supporting research activities at the

Space and Missile Defense Battle

Laboratory (SMDBL) will be

$510,000 for FY 2000 to provide

space-based weather products to the

Army and joint command and control

system users.

It is anticipated the FY 2000 funding

for weather related environmental

research efforts at United States Army

Research Institute of Environmental

Medicine (USARIEM) will continue at

or near the FY 1999 level.

DEPARTMENT OFTHE INTERIOR

(DOI)

The DOI/BLM funding request for

FY 2000 is $1,100,000. This figure is

for meteorological operations and support of the Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) remote sensing

requirements for Remote Automatic

Weather Station (RAWS) and

Lightning Detection Programs.

Normal operations and maintenance of

the restructured Fire RAWS program is

approximately $800,000.

The BLM optimization effort in

RAWS will continue in 2000. Major

efforts are underway among the

Wildland Fire Agencies to consolidate

our efforts in Fire Weather and

National Fire Danger Rating Support.

Continued optimization will take place

over the next few years. Subsequent

cost savings in operations costs will be

used to replace aging equipment and

upgrade sensor packages. Proposed

changes in lightning detection operations will further reduce the out-year

expenditures in this program.

Coordination between DOI agencies

and the USDA Forest Service regarding combined meteorological requirements for the national wildland fire

support functions is ongoing. During

the coming geographic area review

efforts, interagency RAWS replacement coordination will continue to

maximize National Fire Danger Rating

System (NFDRS) sampling points and

minimize the total number of systems

required in the West.

DEPARTMENTOFTRANSPORTATION

(DOT)

The meteorological programs for the

Federal Aviation Administration,

Federal Highway Administration, and

the United States Coast Guard for

FY 2000 are described below:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

The total FAA request for aviation

weather in FY 2000 is $419.8 million

for both operations and supporting

research; the FAA funding for FY 2000

for aviation weather was $426.4 million. The changes in the budget are

reductions for operations (acquisitions

and support) of $13.4 million from the

appropriated $409 million to the

requested $395.6 million. Funding for

supporting research in FY 2000 will

increase by 39 percent to almost

$24.2 million.

The FAA has taken a leadership role

with regard to aviation weather. The

FAA is setting policy, requirements,

and standards for the observation and

dissemination of aviation weather data,

products, information, and short-range

automated warnings and forecasts.

FAA's aviation weather programs are

directed at improving the timeliness

and accuracy of weather information

provided to the aviation customer--

when and where it is needed. The FAA
SECTION 2 15

also supports research to improve the

observation, dissemination, and forecasting of aviation weather. The end

users of the resulting products include

pilots, dispatchers, and air traffic controllers.

In FY 2000, system acquisitions

decreases by 6.2 percent to $112.8 million. Some programs show decreases

due to the system being sent to the

field while some newer programs have

increased. Individual system acquisition and operational programs with

changes greater than $2 million are

listed below:

Programs Changes

($ Millions)

Systems Acquisition:

Automated Surface Observing

System -9.9

Weather and Radar Processor -9.3

Integrated Terminal Weather

System -2.5

Wind Shear Processor 8.0

Terminal Doppler Weather Radar 4.9

Stand-Alone Weather Sensors -3.9

NEXRAD 2.1

Operations Support:

Contract Weather Observations -12.0

Flight Service Station

Operations 8.2

Aviation Weather Research 6.8

The FY 2000 funding request for

operational support decreases by

$6.5 million (2.3 percent) to

$278.5 million. The change reflects a

large decrease for contract weather

observations, modest increases for certain maintenance functions, and significant salary increases for Flight

Service Station operations. 

Supporting research funding increases from $17.5 million in FY 1999 to

$24.2 million in FY 2000. The number

of personnel expected to be engaged in

FAA's aviation weather program is

nearly level at 3,459.

Federal Highway Administration

(FHWA)

The total FHWA request for surface

transportation weather programs in

FY 2000 is $2.30 million all of which

will be used for supporting research

and special programs. The FHWA

funding for FY 1999 for surface transportation weather program was

$325,000. Funding for supporting

research in FY 2000 will increase by

$1.95 million. 

In 1999, the FHWA began documentation of road weather requirements

which will serve as the basis for the

majority of future work in this area.

This work includes addressing the

technical aspects of the road transportation system (including weather

data collection, processing and dissemination) as well as the institutional

challenges surrounding system implementation. These institutional challenges encompassed coordination

within state and local Departments of

Transportation as well as across the

transportation and meteorological

communities. With regard to technical

areas of interest, data collection efforts

will include increased coverage of road

condition observations and incorporate

road weather data (e.g., pavement and

subsurface observations) into broader

meteorological observation networks.

Better processing includes the application of higher resolution weather models and the development of road condition prediction models (e.g. heat balance models) that are needed to develop the appropriate transportation

weather information. In addition, surface transportation decision-makers

require weather information disseminated in formats that are easily understood and in which human factors

issues have already been incorporated.

This need will be achieved through the

development of improved road weather decision support systems. Finally,

the FHWA will continue to develop

outreach and training course material

for program delivery, training, and promotion.

United States Coast Guard (USCG)

All of USCG's funding for meteorological programs is for operations support. For FY 2000, the requested funding level is $6 million. (The Coast

Guard does not have a specific program and budget for meteorology--all

meteorological activities are accomplished as part of general operations.)

The Coast Guard's activities include

the collection and dissemination of

meteorological and iceberg warning

information for the benefit of the

marine community. The Coast Guard

also collects coastal and marine observations from its shore stations and cutters, and transmits these observations

daily to the Navy's Fleet Numerical

Meteorology and Oceanography

Center and NOAA's National Weather

Service. These observations are used

by both the Navy and NOAA in generating weather forecasts. The Coast

Guard also disseminates a variety of

weather forecast products and warnings to the marine community via radio

transmissions. Coast Guard shore stations often serve as sites for NWS

automated coastal weather stations,

and the National Data Buoy Center

provides logistics support in deploying

and maintaining NOAA offshore

weather buoys. The International Ice

Patrol conducts iceberg surveillance

operations and provides warnings to

mariners on the presence of icebergs in

the North Atlantic shipping lanes.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY (EPA)

All of the EPA's funding of meteorological programs is for supporting

research. The anticipated funding

level in FY 2000 for directed meteorological research is $6.4 million which

is a 12.3 percent increase over the

FY 1999 funding level. This increment is primarily due to increased

attention being paid to the effect of airborne toxics and particulate matter on

human health.

In addition, to promote excellence in

environmental science and engineering, the EPA established a national fellowship program and substantially

increased its support for investigatorinitiated research grants. The increase
16 SECTION 2

Table 2.2 depicts how the agencies

plan to obligate their funds for meteorological operations broken down by

"budget category." The two major categories are "Operations Support" and

"Systems Acquisition." To a large

degree, these categories correspond to

non-hardware costs (Operations

Support) and hardware costs (Systems

Acquisition). For agency convenience

in identifying small components that

do not fit into these two major categories, a third category is added called

"Special Programs." Programs that

provide support to several government

agencies such as the Air Force's DMSP

are listed on a separate line.

Table 2.3 describes how the agencies

plan to obligate their funds for meteorological supporting research according

to budget categories. The agencies'

supporting research budgets are subdivided along similar lines--Research

and Development (non-hardware),

Systems Development (hardware), and

Special Programs (for those items that

do not easily fit into the two major categories).

in funding for grants (with reliance on

quality science and peer review) and

for graduate fellowships (to support

the education and careers of future scientists) will provide for a more balanced, long-term capital investment in

improved environmental research and

development.

The funding for the grants program

will remain at $100 million in

FY 2000. The augmented grants program will fund research in areas

including ecological assessment, air

quality, environmental fate and treatment of toxics and hazardous wastes,

and exploratory research. The portion

of these grants that will be awarded for

meteorological research during

FY 2000 cannot be foreseen, but it is

probable that the grant awards will

increase the base amount of $6.4 million listed above for directed meteorological research.

The EPA is continuing its development and validation of air quality dispersion models for air pollutants on all

temporal and spatial scales as mandated by the Clean Air Act, as amended.

Research will focus on indoor, urban,

mesoscale, regional, and multimedia

models which will be used to develop

air pollution control strategies, and

human and ecosystem exposure assessments. There will be increased emphasis placed on meteorological research

into regional and urban formation and

transport of ozone and particulate pollution in support of the recent revisions

to the National Ambient Air Quality

Standards. Increased efficiency of

computation and interpretation of

results are being made possible by

means of high performance computing

and scientific visualization techniques.

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA)

The majority of NASA's $206.6 million funding in meteorology is for supporting research. The requested funding for Earth Observing System (EOS)

supporting research in FY 2000 is

$176.3 million, which is virtually

unchanged from the FY 1999 funding

level. These funding levels are composed of the estimated meteorology

share of the supporting research and

analysis programs as well as EOS and

Earth Probe instruments, EOS science

and EOS Data and Information

Systems (EOSDIS). The FY 2000

level reflects nearly an 8 percent

increase in the EOS and an 11 percent

decrease in the EOSDIS funding from

the corresponding FY 1999 levels.

The Earth Probes line for FY 2000 is

nearly 5 percent higher than the FY

1999 level. An increase of nearly 6

percent is requested for the research

and analysis programs as we approach

launch activities in the EOS program.

NASA also funds a $30.25 million program of weather-related research for

aviation safety.

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC)

The NRC requested funding is for

meteorological operations. The

FY 2000 request for $70,000 is

reduced from the FY 1999 request,

reflecting the expectation that work on

the new transport and dispersion code

RASCAL will be completed in the first

quarter of FY 2000.

The meteorological support program

in the NRC is focused primarily on

obtaining and analyzing meteorological

data and information to be utilized in

atmospheric transport and dispersion

models used in dose projections, plume

pathway characterizations, and concentration estimates related to the safe operation of nuclear facilities and the protection of public health and safety and the

environment. During emergencies, the

primary consideration is obtaining current, accurate, and relevant meteorological information in real-time.

AGENCY FUNDING BY BUDGET CATEGORY

Table 2.4 summarizes how the agencies plan to obligate operational funds

for basic and specialized meteorological services; Table 2.5 is a similar

breakout for supporting research

funds. Table 2.4 reveals that "basic

meteorology" services require

54.2 percent of the total operational

costs while aviation and general military services require 27.2 percent and

14.6 percent, respectively. The

remaining 4 percent is distributed

among the other specialized services.

Table 2.5 shows that supporting

research funds will be distributed

among the services with basic meteorology and aviation services each

receiving approximately 19 percent,

AGENCY FUNDING BY SERVICE CATEGORY
SECTION 2 17
18 SECTION 2
SECTION 2 19
20 SECTION 2
SECTION 2 21

marine and agriculture/forestry services

receiving 4.4 percent and 3.9 percent,

respectively, and the remaining 45.4

percent dedicated to other services. 

The definitions of specialized and

basic services are described below:

Basic Services

Basic services provide products that meet

the common needs of all users and include

the products needed by the general public in

their everyday activities and for the protection of lives and property. "Basic" services

include the programs and activities that do

not fall under one of the specialized services.

Specialized Meteorological Services

Aviation Services. Those services

and facilities established to meet the

requirements of general, commercial,

and military aviation. 

Marine Services. Those services and

facilities established to meet the

requirements of the DOC, DOD, and

DOT on the high seas, on coastal and

inland waters, and for boating activities in coastal and inland waters. The

civil programs which are directly related to services solely for marine uses

and military programs supporting fleet,

amphibious, and sea-borne units

(including carrier-based aviation and

fleet missile systems) are included.

Agriculture and Forestry Services.

Those services and facilities established to meet the requirements of the

agricultural industries and federal,

state, and local agencies charged with

the protection and maintenance of the

Nation's forests.

General Military Services. Those

services and facilities established to

meet the requirements of military user

commands and their component elements. Programs and services which

are part of basic, aviation, marine, or

other specialized services are not

included.

Other Specialized Services. Those

services and facilities established to

meet meteorological requirements that

cannot be classified under one of the

preceding categories; such as, space

operations, urban air pollution, global

climate change, and water management.

PERSONNEL ENGAGED IN METEOROLOGICAL OPERATIONS

Table 2.6 depicts agency staff

resources in meteorological operations. The total agency staff resourcesrequested for FY 2000 is 16,204. This

total represents a decrease of 2.2 percent from FY 1999.

TABLE 2.6 PERSONNEL ENGAGED IN METEOROLOGICAL OPERATIONS

(Units are Full Time Equivalent Staff Years)*

% of FY 2000

AGENCY FY 1999 FY 2000 % CHANGE TOTAL

Agriculture 104 104 2.0 0.6

Commerce/NOAA 5,918 5,719 -3.5 35.3

Reimbursed** 200 200 0.0 1.4

Defense(Subtotal) 7,015 6,823 -2.8 42.1

Air Force 5,064 4,948 -2.3 30.9

DMSP 65 65 0.0 0.4

Navy 1,545 1,470 -5.1 9.1

Army 341 340 -0.3 2.4

Interior/BLM 8 8 0.0 0.0

Reimbursed** 4 4 0.0 0.0

Transportation (Subtotal) 3,516 3,545 0.8 21.9

CG 85 85 0.0 0.6

FAA 3,431 3,459 0.8 21.3

FHWA 0 1 100.0 0.0

EPA 0 0 0.0 0.0

NASA 0 0 0.0 0.0

NRC 1 1 0.0 0.0

TOTAL 16,566 16,204 -2.2 100.0

* Numbers of personnel are rounded to nearest whole number.

** "Reimbursed" are personnel funded by other agencies.
22 SECTION 2

Table 2.7 summarizes the reimbursement of funds from one agency to

another during FY 1999. Agencies

routinely enter into reimbursable

agreements when they determine that

one agency can provide the service

more efficiently and effectively than

the other. While specific amounts may

vary from year-to-year, the pattern

shown is essentially stable and reflects

a significant level of interagency cooperation. 

Department of Commerce. The

NWS will reimburse DOT $2,500 for

Alaska housing utilities. NASA will

receive $60,000 for stratospheric studies. The NESDIS will transfer a total

of $356.9 million to NASA for procurement and launches of polar-orbiting ($117.1 million) and geostationary

($239.8 million) satellites.

Department of Defense. The Air

Force will reimburse DOC a total of

$634,000 for COMET participation

($211,000), OFCM support

($140,000), and Share Processing

Network ($283,000); DOE ($200,000)

for Argonne Laboratories supporting

research; and NSF ($200,000) for

NCAR supporting research. The Navy

will reimburse DOC $58,000 for basic

climatological analysis and forecasting. The Army reimbursements to

DOC include $557,000 to NWS for

maintaining precipitation reporting

stations, $35,000 to NOAA's

Environmental Technology Laboratory

and $60,000 to NOAA's NCDC for

basic research. The Army will also

reimburse the National Center for

Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

$11,000 for basic supporting research

support and the AF Air Combat

Command $60,000 for maintenance of

weather systems. Finally, the United

States Geological Survey will be reimbursed $362,000 for operations and

maintenance of hydrologic and precipitation reporting stations.

Department of Transportation. The

FAA will reimburse NOAA almost

$17.404 million in FY 1999 for

improvement of WSR-88D and costs

associated with automated observing

systems. Additionally, NOAA will

receive $4.3 million for operational

support associated with the WSR-88D

and ASOS maintenance, the Center

Weather Service Units at all Air Route

Traffic Control Centers, the World

Area Forecast System, for meteorology instructors at the FAA, and for studies and OFCM support

The FAA will reimburse Army a total

of $93,000 for supporting research.

The NOAA will receive $4.7 million

for various supporting research associated with aeronautical hazards mitigation. The NASA will receive $80,000

for supporting research.

National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA). The Air

Force will receive reimbursement of

$1.0 million for observations and forecasts. NOAA will receive $20,000 for

an upper air analysis and study, and the

National Data Buoy Center will

receive reimbursements of $120,000

for the operation of two data buoys.

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA). NOAA's Air Resources

Laboratory (ARL) will be reimbursed

$5.35 million for development, evaluation, and application of air quality dispersion models, and for providing

meteorological expertise and guidance

for EPA policy development activities.

Department of Energy (DOE). The

NOAA/OAR will be reimbursed $1.6

million for the Air Resources

Laboratory's Special Operations and

Research Division located at the

Nevada Nuclear Test Site.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(NRC). The NRC will reimburse DOE

$70,000 for technical assistance.

INTERAGENCY FUND TRANSFERS

FACILITIES/LOCATIONS FOR TAKING METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS

Table 2.8 indicates the number of

facilities/locations or platforms at

which the federal agencies carry out

(or supervise) the taking of various

types of meteorological observations.
SECTION 2 23

TABLE 2.7 INTERAGENCY FUND TRANSFERS FOR METEOROLOGICAL

OPERATIONS AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH

FY 1999 Funds ($K)

Estimated or Planned

Agency Funds Agency Funds Supporting

Transferred from: Transferred to: Operations Research

Commerce/NOAA DOT/USCG 2.5

NASA Studies 60

NASA 356.9

Defense/Air Force DOC/OFCM 140

DOC/SPN 283

DOC/COMET 211

DOE/Argonne 200

NSF/NCAR 200

Defense/Navy DOC/NOAA/NCDC 58

Defense/Army DOC/NOAA/NWS 557

DOC/NOAA/ETL 35

DOC/NOAA/NCDC 60

DOI/USGS 362

NSF/NCAR 11

DOD/ACC 60

Transportation/FAA DOC/NOAA 17,404 4,703

DOC/NOAA (Procurement) 4,300

DOD/USA 93

NASA 80

NASA

DOD/USAF 1,000

DOC/NOAA/NDBC 120

DOC/NOAA 20

EPA DOC/NOAA/ARL 5,350

DOE DOC/NOAA/OAR 1,600

NRC DOE/ORNL/PNNL 70
24 SECTION 2

No. of Locations

TYPE OF OBSERVATION/AGENCY (FY 1999)

Surface, land

Commerce (all types) 841

Air Force (U.S. & Overseas) 130

Navy (U.S. & Overseas) 37

Army (U.S. & Overseas) 32

Marine Corps (U.S. & Overseas) 13

Transportation (Flight Service Stn) 61

Transportation (Lim Aviation Wx Rptg Stn) 114

Transportation (Contract Wx Obsg Stn) 284

Transportation (Auto Wx Obsg Stn) 175

Transportation (Auto Sfc Obsg Sys, fielded) 416

Transportation (USCG Coastal) 100

Interior 470

Agriculture 1080

NASA 3

Surface, marine

Commerce (SEAS-equipped ships) 140

Commerce (Coastal-Marine Autom Network) 65

Commerce (NOAA/NOS/PORTS) 6

Commerce (Buoys--moored) 64

Commerce (Buoys--drifting) 21

Commerce (Buoys--large navigation) 10

Commerce (Water-level gauges) 189

Navy (Ships with met personnel) 29

Navy (Ships without met personnel) 294

Transportation (USCG Ships) 70

NASA 2

Upper air, balloon

Commerce (U.S.) 86

Commerce (Foreign, cooperative) 22

Air Force, Fixed (U.S. & Overseas) 12

Air Force, Mobile 15

Army, Fixed (U.S. & Overseas) 11

Army, Mobile 50

Navy, Fixed (U.S. & Overseas) 11

Navy, Mobile 47

Navy, Ships 29

Marine Corps, Mobile 14

NASA (U.S.) 2

Atmospheric Profilers

Army 1

No. of Locations

TYPE OF OBSERVATION/AGENCY (FY 1999)

Upper air, rocket

NASA 2

Army (U.S. & Overseas) 1

Doppler weather radar (WSR-88D) sites

Commerce (NWS) 123

Air Force (U.S. & Overseas) 29

Army (U.S. & Overseas) 2

Transportation 12

Doppler weather radar (Not WSR-88D) sites

Air Force (Transportable) 4

Navy (Fixed) 10

Marine Corps (Mobile) 9

Off-site WSR-88D Processors (PUPs)

Commerce (NWS) 63

Air Force 140

Navy 24

Army 9

Marine Corps 9

Transportation 25

Airport terminal Doppler weather radars

Transportation (Commissioned) 3

Army (not airfield--Test Range) 1

Conventional radar (non-Doppler) sites

Commerce (NWS) 31

Commerce (at FAA sites) 27

Air Force, Fixed (U.S. & Overseas) 7

Air Force, Remote Displays 2

Air Force, Mobile Units 3

Army (Overseas) 1

Marine Corps, Mobile units 15

Weather reconnaissance (No. of aircraft)

Commerce (NOAA) 3

Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) 10

Geostationary meteorological satellites (No. operating)

Commerce (planned config of 2) 2

Army (U.S. & Overseas) 1

Polar meteorological satellites (No. operating)

Commerce (planned config of 2) 2

Air Force 4

Army (U.S. & Overseas) 1

Navy (1 in orbit, status TBD)

TABLE 2.8 FACILITIES/LOCATIONS FOR TAKING METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
SECTION 3

The National Weather Service

(NWS) has the principal responsibility

for the plans and operations of the

basic weather services and certain specific applied services. The primary

mission of NWS is to help ensure the

safety and welfare of the general public with respect to the effects of weather and to further the conduct of governmental and commercial activities

which are affected by weather. In support of this mission, NWS:

 Issues warnings and forecasts of

weather, flood, and ocean conditions.

 Observes and reports the weather

and the river and ocean conditions

of the United States and its possessions.

 Develops and operates national

meteorological, hydrological, and

oceanic service systems.

 Performs applied meteorological

and hydrological research.

 Assists in developing community

awareness and educational materials concerning weather-related natural disasters.

 Participates in international

hydrometeorological activities,

including the exchange, coding

and monitoring of data and forecasts, and also including the installation and repair of hydrometeorological equipment and systems

overseas under the Voluntary

Cooperation Program.

The basic enabling legislation and

authority for weather services are summarized as follows:

 Organic Act of 1890 created the

United States Weather Bureau in

the Department of Agriculture.

 Enabling Act of 1919 allowed the

United States Weather Bureau to

enter into cooperative agreements

for providing agriculture weather

services.

 Flood Control Act of 1938 authorized the establishment, operation,

and maintenance of the

Hydroclimatic Network by the

Weather Bureau for Flood Control;

on July 1, 1940, the Weather

Bureau was transferred from the

Department of Agriculture to the

Department of Commerce.

 Federal Aviation Act of 1958 outlined duties of the Secretary of

Commerce for provision of weather observations and services to aviation.

 Reorganization Plan 2 of 1965

placed the "National Weather

Service" in the newly created

Environmental Science Services

Administration (ESSA).

 Reorganization Plan 4 of 1970

made the NWS a part of the newly

created National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA).

SERVICES

NWS provides around-the-clock

weather and flood warning and forecast services to the public for the protection of life and property and to meet

the needs of all segments of the economy. Weather services are provided primarily by a restructured national network of 121 Weather Forecast Offices

(WFOs) and 13 River Forecast Centers

(RFCs) assisted by 13 Data Collection

Offices (DCOs) who collect data, prepare state and local warnings and forecasts, and disseminate information to

the population both directly and indirectly through the mass media.

(Figure 3-DOC-1 shows the location of

WFOs and RFCs) Data, analyses,

forecasts, and outlooks used by field

forecasters to prepare local forecasts

are centrally processed by the National

Centers for Environmental Prediction

(NCEP). The NWS core mission also

depends on the study, development,

and testing of new methods for

improving basic warning and forecast

capabilities through research.

Weather Warnings and Forecasts. At

121 WFOs, nationwide, NWS forecasters issue local warnings of severe

weather such as tornadoes, severe

thunderstorms, flash floods, and

extreme winter weather.

WFOs prepare forecasts for zones

which are comprised of several counties that experience similar weather.

Each WFO has forecast responsibility

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE WEATHER PROGRAMS

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the principal meteorological agency of the federal

government. By law, NOAA is responsible for reporting the weather of the United States, providing weather and flood

warnings and forecasts to the general public, developing and furnishing applied weather services, and recording the climate of the United States. This mission is carried out within NOAA by the National Weather Service (NWS); the

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS); the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric

Research (OAR); the National Ocean Service (NOS); and the Office of NOAA Corps Operations (NC).

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

SECTION 3 DOC 25
26 DOC SECTION 3 

for several zones. WFOs also provide

the main field forecast support for the

marine and aviation programs as well

as guidance for the fire weather program supporting federal lands management and wildfire control. 

All counties in the United States are

assigned to specific WFOs for warning

purposes. These offices issue and distribute local warnings of severe weather for their assigned counties. WFOs

adapt generalized weather forecasts to

local areas and issue severe weather

and flash flood warnings. 

In preparing local warnings and forecasts, WFOs use value-added forecast

guidance prepared by NCEP.

Functions of the National Centers also

provide central support for the local

warning program.

Aviation Weather Services. The

NWS provides a broad range of services

in support of the aviation community.

WFOs prepare site specific airport terminal forecasts four times per day with

amendments as needed for over 500

public-use airports in the 50 states and

in the Caribbean. These offices also

produce about 300 individual routeoriented forecasts three times per day

for the 48 contiguous states. (Figure

3-DOC-2 is an example of an AWIPS

display used by forecasters to prepare

aviation products).

NCEP's Aviation Weather Center

prepares Area Forecasts 3 times daily

describing general aviation weather

conditions over the lower 48 states.

This unit also issues in-flight advisories of hazardous weather conditions

associated with thunderstorms, icing,

turbulence, strong low-level winds,

and broad areas of low clouds and/or

restricted visibility. In Alaska and

Hawaii, these products are issued by

WFOs. In Alaska, the Alaska Aviation

Weather Unit issues aviation products

specifically for that state.

Marine Weather Services. Using

weather analysis and forecast guidance

provided by NCEP, marine weather

forecasters at coastal and Great Lakes

WFOs issue wind, wave, weather, and

ice warnings, forecasts, and other

information for the population living

and working along the sea coast, offshore, on the Great Lakes, and the high

seas. Principal products include small

craft advisories, gale, storm, tropical

cyclone, and storm surge warnings;

coastal, off-shore, and high seas forecasts; sea and swell forecasts; sea and

lake advisories; and special weather

forecasts to aid in the containment and

clean up of oil spills and other hazardous substances in the marine environment.

Fire Weather Services. Many WFOs

in the Western and Southern parts of

the country are staffed to provide wildfire suppression support, and support

to prescribed burns on federal lands.

Tsunami Warnings. Tsunami watches

and warnings for Pacific Ocean areas

and Alaska are prepared and issued by

the Tsunami Warning Center at Ewa

Beach, Hawaii, and the regional center

at Palmer, Alaska. NWS collects and

analyzes observational data from an

international network of seismological

observatories and sea-level observing

stations which operate on a cooperative basis. The centers use the data to

prepare watches and warnings covering all United States territories and

states bordering on the Pacific Ocean

and disseminate them to WFOs, federal and state disaster agencies, military

organizations, private broadcast media,

and other facilities that can furnish

warning information to the public.

National Centers for Environmental

Prediction

Over the last several decades, NWS

has made major improvements in forecasting synoptic-scale (large-scale,

slowly evolving) weather. As modernization efforts continue, further

improvements will be realized in the

severe weather and flood warnings

program with continuing improvements in larger scale, centrally prepared weather guidance products for

Day II and beyond, implementation of

NWS systems upgrades, advanced

observations from the planned geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites,

and the development of mesoscale predictive techniques for NWS field operations. Integral to the modernization

effort, NWS is reorganizing its field

structure to focus more on warnings

and short-range forecasts, and, in

FY 1995, National Meteorological

Center (NMC) was restructured to

serve a broader mission required by the

NWS modernization. The modernized

operations concept includes a vertically integrated forecast process in which

national centers provide products

Figure 3-DOC-1. National Weather Service Office Locations
SECTION 3 DOC 27

based on output from numerical models, statistical adjustments to model

fields, and value-added products prepared by national center forecasts.

This product suite will be transmitted

to the modernized Weather Forecast

Offices (WFO) in digital form, where

forecasters will use them to prepare

local forecast products. Under the

new, modernized office structure, the

responsibilities of the Weather Service

Forecast Offices (WSFOs) and the

Weather Service Offices (WSOs) will

be subsumed by the WFOs.

Improved technologies allowed

NOAA to reorganize the NMC into

NCEP with nine science-based, service-oriented centers that generate environmental prediction products and two

central support centers that develop

and operate numerical models on

which predictions are based. NCEP

provides an integrated suite of forecast

guidance and specific forecast products from the short-term through seasonal, interannual, decadal, and centennial time frames. Each service center depends on the observational infrastructure, the data assimilation systems, the numeric modeling function,

and the application of model output

statistics to produce value-added forecast guidance products for NWS field

offices and direct users.

Storm Prediction Center. The Storm

Prediction Center (SPC) focuses on

hazardous weather events such as

severe thunderstorms and tornadoes,

ice or heavy snow, and flash floods,

with emphasis on the first few hours of

the forecast period. Products issued

from the SPC give the WFOs specific

guidance as to the probability and

intensity of severe weather occurrences for regional to local geographic

scales. 

Hydrometeorological Prediction

Center. The Hydrometeorological

Prediction Center (HPC) has the

responsibility for preparing quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPF) that

are used by WFOs to develop local

rainfall, snow, and ice forecasts and by

the RFCs to develop local river and

flood forecasts. The HPC provides

special QPFs and coordination to other

federal agencies such as the Federal

Emergency Management Agency

(FEMA) during major flood events.

The HPC also provides an array of

analyses and forecasts of frontal systems, pressure patterns, temperature,

and precipitation for use by WFOs and

the private weather community. 

Marine Prediction Center. The

Marine Prediction Center (MPC) discharges United States international

meteorological obligations to marine

interests under the International

Convention for Safety of Life at Sea

(SOLAS) to which the United States is

a signatory. It provides one-stop-shopping for marine interests operating outside the domain of coastal WFOs. The

HPC provides weather and sea state

warnings and forecasts for the high

seas of the Northern Hemisphere for

planning and operational purposes. Its

Figure 3-DOC-2. AWIPS overlay of AVN (500hPa Heights), Upper Air Observations, and Water Vapor Satellite Image.
28 DOC SECTION 3 

warnings and products go directly to

ships at sea and are vital for the protection of life and property.

The MPC also provides guidance

forecasts for WFOs with coastal

responsibilities, which extend out to

about 100 nautical miles. Coastal

WFOs have responsibility for local

forecasts and warnings out to that

limit; for the high seas beyond, the

responsibility has been centralized in

the HPC.

Tropical Prediction Center/National

Hurricane Center. The NCEP experts

in the area of tropical meteorology are

concentrated in the Tropical Prediction

Center (TPC)/National Hurricane

Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida.

Services provided by the TPC/NHC

include advisories, watches, and warnings for tropical cyclones in the North

Atlantic and eastern North Pacific

Oceans, the Caribbean Sea, and the

Gulf of Mexico, including the portions

of the coastline threatened by such

storms.

In addition, TPC forecasters provide

aviation and marine analyses and forecast products for the same areas of

responsibility. The TPC/NHC functions both to provide guidance, coordination, and tropical weather expertise

to WFO forecasters and to serve users

of centrally-generated products.

Aviation Weather Center. The

Aviation Weather Center (AWC) is the

mechanism by which the United States

discharges its weather forecasting obligations to the aviation community

under an international agreement

through the International Civil

Aviation Organization. The AWC provides wind, temperature, and flight

hazard (e.g., icing, turbulence) forecasts for flight planning and enroute

aircraft operations for the United

States, the north Atlantic and north

Pacific routes, and some routes in the

Southern Hemisphere.

In addition to the enroute weather

support provided for the aviation

industry, the AWC also produces guidance products for use by WFOs in support of the airport terminal forecast

function. Thus, the AWC discharges

large-scale, global aviation functions

which can be sensibly centralized,

while the WFOs discharge local aviation functions based on centralized

guidance provided by the AWC. 

Climate Prediction Center. The

Climate Prediction Center (CPC) produces climate services consisting of

operational prediction of climate variability, monitoring of the climate system and development of data bases for

determining current climate anomalies

and trends, and analysis and assessment of their origins and linkages to

the rest of the climate system. These

services cover climate time scales

ranging from weeks to seasons,

extending into the future as far as technically feasible, and cover the domain

of land, ocean, and atmosphere extending into the stratosphere. CPC climate

services are used by WFOs as well as

the public, private industry, and the

international research community. 

Space Environment Center. The

Space Environment Center (SEC),

located in Boulder, Colorado, provides

national and international forecasts,

alerts, and warnings of extraordinary

conditions in the space environment,

solar radio noise, solar energetic particles, solar X-ray radiation, geomagnetic activity, and conditions of stratospheric warming. The SEC observes,

assesses, and predicts activity in the

space environment to promote public

safety and to mitigate economic loss

that could result from disruption of

satellite operations, communications

and navigation systems, and electric

power distribution grids. The SEC

issues specific predictions of the activity level of space weather for the next

3 days and more general predictions up

to several weeks in advance. Weekly

summaries of observed solar-terrestrial

conditions are also published. The

SEC supports theoretical and experimental research to understand the fundamental physical processes governing

the space environment and the development of operational techniques and

processes. Research activities focus

on areas where advanced applications

can be developed to help improve the

Nation's space weather service.

Environmental Modeling Center.

The Environmental Modeling Center

(EMC) located in Camp Springs,

Maryland, improves NCEP's numerical weather, marine, and climatic predictions through a broad program of

data assimilation and computer modeling. In support of the NCEP operational mission to provide ocean prediction, mesoscale prediction (thunderstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.),

and global prediction, EMC develops,

adapts, improves, and monitors data

assimilation systems and models of the

atmosphere, ocean, and

atmosphere/ocean system using

advanced modeling methods developed internally, as well as cooperatively with scientists from universities, the

international scientific community,

NOAA laboratories, and other government agencies. The EMC integrates

research and technology through its

Model Test Facility (MTF). The MTF

serves as an efficient and effective

interface between NCEP and the scientific community which may develop

ideas, models, and techniques that will

improve NCEP products. The MTF

provides consultation, programming,

and computer resources to outside scientists using the NCEP system and

coordinates initial evaluations of their

work. The EMC conducts applied

research and development and publishes research results in various media for

dissemination to the world meteorological and oceanographic community. 

NCEP Central Operations. The

NCEP Central Operations (NCO)

located in Camp Springs, Maryland, is

responsible for all aspects of NCEP

operations, including access to realtime data, and its quality control and

use in numerical weather prediction

systems. The NCO provides management, procurement, development,

installation, maintenance, and opera-
SECTION 3 DOC 29

tion of all computing and communications-related services which link the

individual NCEP activities together.

The NCO is the focal point for the

establishment and execution of policies, standards, procedures, and documentation for computing and communications within the entire NCEP

organization. The NCO houses and

runs the super-computer facility and

implements and monitors the management of all operational modifications

to NCEP products to ensure the reliability of scheduled services. The NCO

provides the technical transition

between the research and development

of numerical weather and climate prediction models and their operational

use. The NCO also manages the

NCEP databases for use by numerical

weather and climate prediction systems and other operational and developmental efforts of NCEP. In addition,

NCO provides 24-hour information

services and operational support for

NCEP computing systems, including

the network which ties together internal NCEP communications, NWS

mainframe and supercomputer systems, workstations, graphics plotters,

and personal computers.

SUPPORTING RESEARCH

The NWS conducts applied research,

building upon the more basic research

conducted by NOAA laboratories and

the academic community. Applied

meteorological and hydrological

research is integral to providing more

timely and accurate weather and flood

warning and forecast services to the

public.

Meteorological Research. The NWS

conducts meteorological research to

develop, test, evaluate, and improve

numerical models and analysis/forecast techniques used in weather and

climate prediction including:

 Techniques for predicting

mesoscale phenomena (e.g., heavy

precipitation, tornadoes, and

severe thunderstorms). These

techniques will be developed and

improved to use digital data from

new observing systems such as the

Next Generation Weather Radar

(NEXRAD) with Doppler capability (Figure 3-DOC-3) and geostationary satellites with higher resolution (GOES-NEXT).

 Models to improve hurricane

tracking, hurricane probability

estimates, and tropical analyses.

 Storm surge models to assist in

developing hurricane evacuation

plans for additional coastal basins.

Hydrological Research. The NWS

develops improved hydrologic and

hydrometeorological models and procedures in support of the national flood

forecasting and water resources forecasting programs including:

 Improvements to the Extended

Streamflow Prediction model and

its complementary models in the

NWS River Forecast System.

 Specialized flood and flash flood

forecasting procedures using

linked hydrological and meteorological models. 

 Algorithms to combine WSR-88D

precipitation estimates with data

from satellites and other groundbased observation systems.

MODERNIZATION

A Strategic Plan for the

Modernization and Associated

Restructuring of the NWS was submitted to Congress in 1989.

Implementation of the plan will optimize efficiency and effectiveness of

the mesoscale warning and forecast

program and will include an operational demonstration and evaluation

program as required by Public

Law 102567 to refine operational

procedures and resolve implementation issues best addressed through

actual field experience. Continued

improvements in larger scale, centrally

prepared weather guidance products

for Day II and beyond through

advanced forecasting models and the

requested increased computer processing capability are essential to successful implementation of mesoscale forecasting in NWS field operations,

where field forecasters will concentrate on the small-scale, short-lived

processes that occur in the 0 to 36-hour

timescale.

The National Implementation Plan

provides a planning framework and

general strategies for accomplishing

the transition as well as advanced notification of when implementation activities are scheduled to occur at each site.

The interrelationships of all of the

activities--facilities preparation,

staffing augmentation, training, commissioning of systems, and realigning

operations and services--have begun so

that the demonstration can begin in

1996. In addition to preparations for

the demonstration, nationwide planning and implementation have begun.

Facilities construction is ongoing;

training for field personnel is being

conducted with necessary backup personnel to cover operational shifts; software development continues; new

communications are being established;

and all NWS offices have developed

Figure 3-DOC-3. Next Generation

Weather Radar (WSR-88D).
30 DOC SECTION 3 

and are updating detailed site plans for

the transition. The NWS modernization effort is a complex mix of internal

NWS activities and multiple contractor

efforts. Internal activities provide

land, facilities, software, training,

staffing, and new operational procedures. 

Modernization and Associated

Restructuring. The NWS has begun

this process of change prompted by

two factors: the need to apply advances

in hydrometeorological science and

technology to operational forecasting

and the need to replace obsolete and

increasingly unreliable equipment.

These factors offer the opportunity to

improve severe weather warnings,

flood warnings, and forecasts through

the acquisition of the following new

technologically advanced systems:

 Automated Surface Observing

System (ASOS) to reduce timeconsuming manual observations,

provide continuous weather watch,

and permit increased productivity

of staff (Figure 3-DOC-4).

 Next Generation Weather Radar

(NEXRAD) with Doppler capability and sophisticated software to

provide nationwide coverage for

timely and accurate detection of

severe weather and floods.

 Advanced Weather Interactive

Processing System (AWIPS) to

enable local forecasters to integrate, process, and transmit highvolume radar, satellite, upper air,

surface observation data and guidance information.

 Computer Facility Upgrades to

accommodate advanced numerical

weather prediction models and

increased data to improve accuracy of forecast guidance.

These systems upgrades, coupled

with observations from planned,

advanced geostationary and polarorbiting satellites and newly developed

mesoscale forecasting techniques, will

greatly improve the timeliness and

accuracy of severe weather and flood

warnings to the public. Improved

capability to detect and predict the

small-scale, short-lived (mesoscale)

phenomena which cause the most

destructive weather events will

increase warning lead times for severe

thunderstorms, tornadoes, high winds,

and flash floods, as well as reduce false

warning.

Figure 3-DOC-4. ASOS Data Collection Package (DCP) 
SECTION 3 DOC 31

The National Environmental

Satellite, Data, and Information

Service (NESDIS) manages United

States civil operational environmental

satellite systems, as well as global

databases for meteorology, oceanography, solid-earth geophysics, and solarterrestrial sciences. From these

sources, NESDIS develops and distributes environmental data and information products and services critical to

the protection of life and property, the

national economy, energy development and distribution, global food supplies, and development and management of environmental resources. 

NESDIS was established as a NOAA

line office on December 1, 1982. It was

formed by the merger of the former

National Environmental Satellite

Service (NESS) and Environmental

Data and Information Service (EDIS). 

NESDIS operates two primary polarorbiting satellites in sun-synchronous

orbits with equatorial crossing times in

the early morning (circa 7:30 a.m.

LST) and early afternoon (circa 1:40

p.m. LST). These satellites collect

global data four times per day that provide atmospheric and surface measurements in support of short-term weather

forecasting and longer-term global climate change research. An agreement

finalized with the European

Organization for the Exploitation of

Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)

gives EUMETSAT responsibility for

the morning segment of the polar environmental mission (circa 9:30 a.m.

LST), with United States-provided

payload instruments and sensors,

beginning in 2003. Thus, upon inception of this operational arrangement,

NOAA will operate the afternoon mission while EUMETSAT will support

the morning mission.

On October 3, 1994, NOAA, DOD,

and the National Aeronautics and

Space Administration (NASA) created

an Integrated Program Office (IPO) to

develop, manage, acquire and operate

the national polar-orbiting meteorological satellite system, subsequently designated the National Polar-orbiting

Operational Environmental Satellite

System (NPOESS). The IPO is organizationally located within NOAA and

is headed by a System Program

Director responsible to the NPOESS

Executive Committee. This committee, which includes senior representatives from the three agencies, serves as

a board of directors to ensure that the

overall program plans meet the needs

of the three participating agencies.

The IPO concept provides each of

the participating agencies with lead

responsibility for one of three primary

functional areas. NOAA has overall

responsibility for the converged system and is responsible to the IPO for

satellite operations. NOAA is also the

primary interface with the international and civil user communities. DOD is

responsible to support the IPO for

major systems acquisitions including

launch support. NASA has a primary

responsibility for facilitating the development and incorporation of new costeffective technologies into the converged system. Although each agency

provides certain key personnel in their

lead role, each functional division is

staffed by tri-agency work teams to

maintain the integrated approach.

The first converged satellite is

expected to be available sometime

toward the middle to latter half of the

next decade depending on when the

current NOAA and DMSP programmed satellite assets are exhausted.

NPOESS will provide standard meteorological data, oceanographic, environmental, climatic, space environmental remote sensing information, as

well as continuing to provide surface

data collection and search and rescue

capability. The IPO, in consultation

with the NOAA and DMSP program

offices, is also studying additional

potential cost effective approaches to

maximize user satisfaction during the

transition to NPOESS while guaranteeing continued non-interrupted data

services.

NESDIS is also responsible for operating two Geostationary Operational

Environmental Satellites (GOES).

GOES-East stationed at 75o

W monitors

the Atlantic Ocean, the East and Gulf

Coasts, and the Midwest; GOES-West

at 135o

W monitors the Pacific Ocean

and West Coast. 

Due to an impending failure of the

attitude and orbit control systems on

GOES-9, it was replaced by GOES-10

in July 1998. GOES-L, the next in the

series of GOES, is scheduled for

launch in May 1999. 

ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE

SERVICES

The Office of Satellite Operations

(OSO) directs the operation of

NOAA's environmental satellites and

the acquisition of remotely sensed

environmental data. It manages the

Satellite Operations Control Center

(SOCC) and Command and Data

Acquisition (CDA) stations, which

command and control, track, and

acquire data from these environmental

satellites (see Figure 3-DOC-5 and

Figure 3-DOC-6 for details)

OSO took over the command, control, and communications function of

the DOD's Defense Meteorological

Satellite Program (DMSP) constellation in 1998. The mission of DMSP is

to provide meteorological and special

sensor data to users in support of

worldwide DOD missions. DMSP is

now operated from the Satellite

Operations Control Center (SOCC) at

Suitland, Maryland. SOCC is the primary center for normal operations,

mission planning, engineering, launch

and early orbit support, and anomaly

resolution. A new ground system was

developed for DMSP called Integrated

Polar Acquisition and Control

Subsystem.

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE, DATA, AND INFORMATION SERVICE
32 DOC SECTION 3 

The Office of Satellite Data

Processing and Distribution (OSDPD)

directs the operations of NESDIS central ground data processing facilities.

It processes and distributes current

weather satellite data and derived

products to the NWS and other domestic and foreign users. 

OSDPD distributes NOAA and nonNOAA environmental satellite products to the NWS Satellite Field

Distribution Facilities (SFDF), who

provide further distribution to regional

NWS offices and other federal, state,

and private sector agencies. At the end

of FY 1998, OSDPD decommissioned

GOES-TAP, an analog distribution

service. As a replacement, OSDPD is

currently generating modern remapped

digital data satellite products for further distribution via NOAAPORT, a

satellite point to multi-point broadcast.

NOAAPORT will deliver various

GOES products in virtually real-time

to the AWIPS. AWIPS, a new workstation, enables NWS field sites to

integrate and display satellite data for

hydrometeorological analyses.

As AWIPS development and deployment proceed, NESDIS will continue to

supply digital GOES images to a group of

NWS sites equipped with the RAMM

Branch Advanced Meteorological

Satellite Demonstration and Interpretation

System (RAMSDIS)--a PC-based image

display and analysis system. These sites

acquire the images via the Internet for

demonstration, evaluation, and familiarization purposes. RAMSDIS enables

forecasters to perform operations such as

looping, enhancement curve changes, and

local image recombination.

NESDIS continued its support of the

COSPAS-SARSAT Program through

provision of satellites, ground stations,

and alert data distribution services.

Russia, the United States, France, and

Canada provide the space segment and

related ground systems for COSPASSARSAT. NOAA operates and maintains the United States SARSAT

Mission Control Center and seven

ground stations. The ground stations

receive Doppler signals directly from

the satellites and process the information to provide the location of distress

transmissions.

COSPAS-SARSAT planned to incorporate Geostationary Earth Orbit

Search and Rescue (GEOSAR) satelFigure 3-DOC-5. Diagram of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) command/control and data

communications. 
SECTION 3 DOC 33

lite systems as a supplement to the

existing COSPAS-SARSAT polarorbiting system by late 1998.

GEOSAR systems will provide instantaneous alerting capability and could

significantly decrease rescue times. In

1998, the COSPAS-SARSAT Council

also agreed to implement new emergency beacon location protocols to

provide precise location within the

beacon message using the United

States Global Positioning System

(GPS) and the Russian Global

Navigation Satellite System

(GLONASS).

Arctic Drifting Buoy Program. The

United States Interagency Arctic Buoy

Program (USIABP) was established in

1992 to provide the management structure and coordination necessary to

maintain a baseline network of drifting

buoys. Buoys within the array provide

sufficient spatial resolution to define

surface synoptic scale atmospheric

pressure, air temperature, and sea-ice

drift fields. Data are used in real-time

for operational weather and ice forecasting and for research in the Global

Climate Change Program. The USIABP

is a collaborative program that draws

operating funds and services from the

collective contributions of eight government agencies and/or programs.

These organizations include: the

Naval Oceanographic Office, ONR,

NASA, NSF, and NOAA's NESDIS,

OAR, and Office of Global Programs

(OGP).

The Office of Research and

Applications (ORA) provides guidance and direction for NESDIS

research and applications activities. It

coordinates the efforts of the Climate

Research and Applications Division,

Atmospheric Research and Applications Division, and Oceanic

Research and Applications Division.

These divisions conduct studies on the

use of satellite data to monitor environmental characteristics and change

and develop algorithms to produce

satellite products for applications to

operational weather and ocean analyses and prediction. Further, ORA participates in the development of new

spacecraft and sensors for future systems. It also carries out a vigorous

program to calibrate and validate satellite data to ensure its quality for longterm studies. Staff from these diviFigure 3-DOC-6. Diagram of Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) command/control and data

communications.
34 DOC SECTION 3 

sions also conduct a strong technology

transfer program through scientific

presentations, technical reports,

Internet-based tutorials, and training

workshops at domestic and international sites. 

Polar-Orbiting Systems

The primary mission of the PolarOrbiting Operational Environmental

Satellite (POES) System is to provide

daily global observations of weather

patterns and environmental measurements of the Earth's atmosphere, its

surface and cloud cover, and the proton

and electron flux at satellite altitude.

Since the beginning of the POES program, environmental data and products

acquired by its satellites have been

provided to users around the globe.

These satellites increase the accuracy of weather forecasting by providing

quantitative data required for improved

numerical weather forecast models.

Currently, the two primary operational

spacecraft are NOAA-15 and NOAA-14.

NOAA polar satellites carry instruments to provide atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles. They also

provide multi-channel images and

carry a data collection and platform

location system, and a Search and

Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking

(SARSAT) subsystem. The SARSAT

subsystem is used to detect and locate

distress alerts from maritime, aviation,

and land-based users. In addition to

taking thermal images of the earths

surface and atmosphere, the NOAA

polar-orbiting satellites carry sounder

instruments to provide vertical profiles

of atmospheric temperature and moisture.

The NOAA-series satellites carry

four primary instrument systems. The

Advanced Very High Resolution

Radiometer (AVHRR) provides data

for real-time transmission to both

Automatic Picture Transmission

(APT) and High Resolution Picture

Transmission (HRPT) users and for

storage on the spacecraft tape

recorders for later playback. The

AVHRR instrument provides stored

and direct-readout radiometer data for

day and night cloud cover, sea surface

temperatures, vegetation indices, and

snow and ice mapping. 

NOAA-15 carries the first of a new

generation of imager and sounder. The

AVHRR on NOAA-15 contains a

switchable Channel 3A (1.6 micrometers (μm)) and Channel 3B (3.7μm).

In addition, NOAA-15 carries the first

Advanced TOVS. 

ATOVS consists of the High

Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder

(HIRS/3), an Advanced Microwave

Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A), and the

Advance Microwave Sounding Unit-B

(AMSU-B), replacing the Microwave

Sounding Units (MSU) and the

Stratospheric Sounding Units (SSU)

flying on the older polar-orbiting satellites. The new AMSU instruments are

designed to provide increased accuracy

in temperature and humidity retrievals.

They will receive a thorough postlaunch calibration and evaluation.

This will include checking instrument

performance against specifications and

comparing with pre-launch test results.

Long-term trends of the various instrument and blackbody temperatures will

also be determined.

The HIRS/S is a discrete stepping,

line-scan instrument designed to measure scene radiance in 20 spectral bands

to permit the calculation of the vertical

temperature profile from Earth's surface to about 40 kilometers (km).

Multispectral data from one visible

channel (0.69μm), seven shortwave

channels (3.7 to 4.6μm) and twelve

longwave channels (6.5 to 15μm) are

obtained from a single telescope and

rotating filter wheel containing twenty

individual filters. An elliptical scan

mirror provides cross-track scanning

of 56 increments of 1.8μ. The mirror

steps rapidly (<35 msec), then holds at

each position while the 20 filter segments are sampled. This action takes

place each 100 msec. The instantaneous field of vision (FOV) for each

channel is approximately 1.4μ in the

visible and shortwave IR and 1.3μ in

the longwave IR band which, from an

altitude of 833 km, encompasses an

area of 20.3 km and 18.9 km in diameter, respectively, at nadir on the Earth. 

Each AMSU-A instrument is composed of two separate units:

AMSUA2 with two channels at 23.8

and 31.4 GHz; and AMSU-A1 with

twelve channels in the range of 50.3 to

57.3 GHz and one channel at

89.0 GHz. The AMSU-B has five

channels with frequencies centered on

89, 150, and 183±1, 183±3, and 183±7 GHz,

respectively. AMSU-B, which is provided by the United Kingdom

Meteorological Office. The ANSU-B

provides soundings of humidity from

surface to 200 millibars (mb).

AMSUA has a nominal FOV of 3.3o

(48 km on surface at nadir) and

AMSU-B a field of view of 1.1o(16 km

on surface at nadir). AMSU-A

(AMSU-B) samples 30o

(90) Earth

views, covering ±48.95o

from the subsatellite point. In addition, the specialized 89 GHz channel, with the capability to see through high and mid-level

clouds to low level moisture clouds, is

being utilized to determine the position

and structure of tropical cyclones on a

global scale.

The AMSU-A1 uses two antenna

systems, providing observations in the

twelve oxygen band channels (3-14)

for retrieving the atmospheric temperature profile from the Earth's surface to

about 42 kilometer (km), or from 1000

to 2 mb. The remaining three channels

(1 and 2 from A2 and 15 from A1) will

aid the retrieval of temperature soundings by correction of surface emissivity, atmospheric liquid water, and total

precipitable water. These window

channels also provide information on

precipitation, sea ice, and snow coverage.

The Space Environment Monitor

(SEM) measures solar proton flux,

alpha particle and electron flux density,

and energy spectrum and total particulate energy distribution at spacecraft

altitude. The two sensors included

within this instrument are the Total

Energy Detector (TED) and the
SECTION 3 DOC 35

Medium Energy Proton and Electron

Detector (MEPED), in addition to a

common data processing unit. This

instrument augments the measurements made by NOAA's geostationary

satellites. 

In addition to the four primary

instrument systems, the "afternoon"

NOAA series spacecraft carry the

Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet

Radiometer (SBUV/2). SBUV/2 is a

non-scanning (fixed nadir viewing)

spectrometer designed to measure

scene radiance and solar spectral irradiance from 160 nanometers to 400

nanometers. Data obtained from the

instrument are used to compute the

amount and vertical distribution of

ozone in the Earth's atmosphere on the

sunlit side of the Earth. 

The ground system required to

receive large volumes of digital data

from NOAA satellites consists of two

major subsystems--the Polar Acquisition and Control Subsystem (PACS)

and the Central Environmental Satellite

Computer System (CEMSCS). The

PACS includes the Wallops, Virginia,

and Fairbanks, Alaska, CDA stations

and the SOCC at Suitland, Maryland.

All the CEMSCS components are in

the NOAA facility at Suitland. 

PACS is used to command and control the spacecraft, monitor its health

via housekeeping telemetry, and

retrieve and transmit the spacecraft

environmental data to the CEMSCS

processing and data handling facility.

The delivery of NOAA system data

from the CDAs to Suitland is accomplished by using the General Electric

American Communications, Inc. commercial satellite communications network. This system, which includes

Earth stations at Suitland, Wallops, and

Fairbanks, delivers the data to SOCC.

These data are immediately passed on

to the CEMSCS for processing. The

CEMSCS ingests the raw satellite data

and pre-processes and stores them

along with appended auxiliary information, such as Earth location and

quality control parameters. The data

processed by the CEMSCS are used

for environmental products and operational weather predictions which are

disseminated to users throughout the

world.

POES Data Collection

The Data Collection System (DCS) is

provided through an international cooperative agreement with the Centre

Nationale d'Etudes Spatiales of France

and is called the ARGOS DCS. The system provides a means to locate and collect environmental data from fixed and

moving platforms i.e. buoys, wildlife,

etc. The ARGOS DCS supports environmental applications, e.g. meteorology, oceanography, and protection of the

environment, with the majority of users

being government/ non-profit agencies

and researchers. An instrument upgrade

to incorporate a downlink message

capability is planned for the NOAA-N'

satellite. A new regulation entitled

Policies and Procedures Regarding Use

of the NOAA Space-Based Data

Collection Systems (CFR 15 Part 911)

was published on May 6, 1998. 

Geostationary Satellite Program

Two operational geostationary satellites, GOES-8 (75O

W) and GOES-10

(135O

W), now cover virtually the entire

western hemisphere for operational

meteorological services. New operating schedules allow acquisition and

distribution of imagery from the satellites four times per hour over much of

North America in Routine mode, and

eight times per hour over the contiguous United States to monitor dynamic

weather and land events, such as fires

and volcanoes.

The projected launch schedule and

associated instruments for geostationary satellites are shown in Table 3.1.

TABLE 3.1 PROJECTED SATELLITE LAUNCH SCHEDULE

POLAR-ORBITING SYSTEM GEOSTATIONARY SYSTEM

Satellite Designator Planned Launch Date* Satellite Designator Planned Launch Date*

NOAA L CY 2000 GOES L CY 1999

NOAA M CY 2001 GOES M CY 2002 

METOP-1 CY 2003 GOES N CY 2002 (Failure)

NOAA-N CY 2003 GOES O CY 2005

METOP-2 CY 2008 GOES P CY 2007

NOAA-N' CY 2008 GOES Q CY 2010

NPOESS-1 CY 2009

NPOESS-2 CY 2010

METOP-3 CY 2012

NPOESS-3 CY 2014

NPOESS-4 CY 2016

NPOESS-5 CY 2018

*Launch date depends on performance of prior spacecraft and is subject to change.
36 DOC SECTION 3 

The GOES satellites host an imager

capable of detecting atmospheric, sea

surface, and land properties in five

spectral bands including the

3.9 micron (μ) and 12.0μ wavelengths.

GOES satellites transmit all five spectral bands simultaneously, affording

the user community continuous views

of atmospheric measurements in various wavelengths, each with its own

meteorological and hydrological application. GOES spacecraft were

designed for flexible scanning of the

Earth; a variety of scans or sector coverage can be scheduled within a

30minute time frame. For example,

the full earth disk is scanned once

every three hours and requires the

entire 30-minute time period.

Depending on the severity of the land

or atmospheric event being monitored,

30-minute periods in between the full

disk scans may be a mixture of

15minute interval (routine operations) or 71⁄2 minute interval (severe

operations) scans over the contiguous

United States. To further support

mesoscale and microscale analyses,

1000 km x 1000 km coverage can also

be scanned at one minute intervals to

capture rapidly developing and dynamic environmental phenomena.

The five channels and respective resolutions are as follows:

 Channel 1 (Visible, .55μ to

.75μ)1 km.

 Channel 2 (Infrared, 3.8μ to

4.0μ)4 km.

 Channel 3 (Water Vapor, 6.5μ to

7.0μ)8 km.

 Channel 4 (Infrared, 10.2μ to

11.2μ)4 km.

 Channel 5 (Infrared, 11.5μ to

12.5μ)4 km.

NOAA Instruments for NOAA Polar-Orbiter and METOP Series

AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

SEM Space Environment Monitor

SBUV Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer (NOAA PM mission only)

HIRS High Resolution Infrared Sounder

DCS ARGOS Data Collection System

AMSU-A Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A

AMSU-B Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-B

SARP Search and Rescue Processor

SARR Search and Rescue Repeater

MHS Microwave Humidity Sounder (NOAA-N/N' and METOP

Instruments for NPOESS Series

VIIRS Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite 

CMIS Conical Microwave Imager/Sounder

CrIMSS Cross-track Infrared/Microwave Sounder Suite

OMPS Ozone Mapper/Profiler Suite

SES Space Environment Suite

DCS Data Collection System

SARSAT Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking System

ERBS Earth Radiation Budget Sensor

TSIS Total Solar Irradiance Sensor

ALT Altimeter (Dual Frequency radar altimeter)

Instruments for GOES-Next Series

Imager

Sounder

SEM Space Environment Monitor

SXI Solar X-Ray Imager (GOES L or M)

SAR Search and Rescue 

DCS Data Collection System

EUMESAT Unique Instruments for METOP Series Satellites

ASCAT Advance Scatterometer

GOME Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment

GRAS GPS Receiver for Atmospheric Sounding

IASI Infra-red Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer

TABLE 3.1 PROJECTED SATELLITE LAUNCH SCHEDULE (cont.)
SECTION 3 DOC 37

The GOES-8 and GOES-10 sounder

instruments, consisting of 19 spectral

channels, are used for measurements

of atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles, surface and cloud top

temperatures, and ozone distribution.

Products derived from the sounder

include precipitable water and lifted

index--a measurement of atmospheric

stability. Comparable to the imager,

the sounder is capable of providing

various scan coverages, such as full

Earth imagery, sectorized imagery, and

local imagery. An independent

sounder platform, governed under its

own schedule, leads to an expansion of

sounder-data coverage and an increase

in the frequency of transmissions. 

GOES Data Collection

The GOES also carries a Data

Collection System (DCS) which is

used to collect and relay environmental

data observed by a variety of remotely

located platforms, such as river and

tide gages, seismometers, buoys, ships,

and automatic weather stations. Data

collection platforms offers many ways

to monitor the atmosphere, the earth's

water from rain and its runoff, the forest growth and susceptibility to fire,

the stresses of the earth's crust, the

oceans' surface and mixed layers, the

parameters affecting agricultural production, and the quality of air and

water. Many of the federal agencies

have their own data collection networks for collecting and telemetering

their data for their own use. The

GOES DCS has become the conduit

through which remotely sensed data,

the life-blood of the agencies' operations, must pass. In support of agency

missions, the GOES DCS data are used

in weather forecasts and warnings,

reservoir control and flood monitoring.

While the GOES DCS is a critical element for national and international

meteorological and hydrological programs, the NWS NEXRAD program

relies on the DCS data as a vital input

for calibration and validation.

Tsunami watches and warnings for the

Pacific Ocean are prepared using the

DCP data transmitted via GOES DCS.

The GOES DCS program touches all

aspects of our lives in supporting water

quality, air pollution, and global environmental monitoring. 

Data are collected for warnings of

solar activity using SEM. This block

of instruments is more extensive than

on the polar spacecraft. The GOES

SEM instruments include X-ray monitors that detect solar flares, energetic

particle sensors, and three-component

vector magnetometers to measure

changes in the ambient magnetic field.

Real-time SEM data are used to support operational NOAA and DOD

space environment forecasts and alerts.

Data from GOES SEM sensors are

archived by the National Geophysical

Data Center and provided to retrospective users on-line via Internet and on a

variety of computer media.

A system similar technically to the

DCS, but used for a different purpose,

is the SARSAT transponder. The operational SARSAT transponders on

GOES-8 and GOES-9 are capable of

providing an immediate distress alert.

While the present GOES system is

incapable of providing location of the

distress signal, it provides advance

warning to the SARSAT Mission

Control Center which then begins to

verify the location of the alert through

other means. Future COSPASSARSAT distress beacons, utilizing

Global Positioning System (GPS), will

have the capability to provide location

information in the distress message.

Satellite Communications System

(SATCOM)

The NESDIS Telecommunications

System is a complex network of voice,

teletype, and data-grade transmissions sent

via satellites, microwave, and terrestrial

cable services. A major component of the

system is the Office of Satellite Operations

(OSO) which consists of the SOCC and

two CDA stations at Wallops, Virginia,

and Fairbanks, Alaska. OSO is responsible for the operation and safety of NOAA

polar and geostationary satellites and for

providing satellite data to OSDPD.

Another major component is the

Environmental Satellite Distribution/

Interactive Processing Center (ESD/IPC)

in Camp Springs, Maryland. The

ESD/IPC is connected in turn with the

Fairbanks and Wallops CDA stations

and the six SFDFs.

A third major component, managed

and operated by OSDPD and NOAA's

National Climatic Data Center

(NCDC), is the NOAA Operational

Satellite Active Archive (SAA) for

satellite data and metadata access, display, and electronic transfer. The SAA

offers the user a wide range of capabilities, including data catalog and inventory search, AVHRR image browse,

on-line data selection and file transfer

protocol (FTP), and off-line data selection and delivery. On-line system documentation, data guides, and help files

will assist the novice user and provide

valuable time-saving tips to all users.

While developed as an independent

system, the SAA serves as NOAA's

initial interoperable interface to

NASA's Earth Observing System Data

and Information System (EOSDIS). In

1997, DMSP special sensor products

and RADARSAT products for authorized subscribers, were made available

to users.

SUPPORTING RESEARCH

PROGRAM

Recent advances in numerical

weather prediction (NWP) models,

both at NOAA's NCEP/EMC and

other major International NWP

Centers, require higher quality satellite derived winds, particularly over

the traditionally data void oceanic

regions of the globe. In March 1998,

NOAA/NESDIS implemented an

upgraded operational wind production

suite which provides higher quality

imager-based cloud-drift and water

vapor motion winds at significantly

increased spatial and temporal resolution. The system is totally automated

and uses a series of geostationary satellite images to derive wind estimates.

Automated quality control of the
38 DOC SECTION 3 

image registration is a new and important addition to the NESDIS GOES

winds processing suite. The automated

winds algorithm uses an objective pattern matching technique to estimate

velocity, and satellite water vapor and

infrared brightness temperature data to

assign heights to these derived wind

estimates. With increased computer

resources, a ten-fold increase in the

yield of "good" wind vectors for

GOES-8 and GOES-10 are being generated every 3 hours for the Northern

and Southern Hemisphere. Approximately 20,000 cloud-drift and water

vapor motion wind vectors are derived

from both satellites for each cycle and

distributed to EMC and to the Global

Telecommunication System (GTS).

EMC now uses these new operational

NESDIS wind products in their global

and regional data assimilation/numerical forecast systems.

Recent work involves: (1) the development of a dual pass quality control

capability which allows for the retention of satellite winds in the vicinity of

tropical storms where the accuracy of

global forecast wind fields is lacking;

(2) the development and validation of a

cloud-base height estimation technique

which assigns the height of cloud tracers to cloud base rather than to cloud

top; (3) development of a new low

level IR targeting strategy aimed at

increasing the number of low level

cloud drift winds in areas covered by

persistent, low level cloud regimes;

and (4) the formatting of the wind

products into the WMO sanctioned

BUFR format. New satellite wind

products being developed and validated include the low level high density

visible satellite winds. During the daylight hours, visible channel data can be

used to track cloud motions. The

GOES visible imagery offers high horizontal resolution (1 km) and frequent

image sampling (15-30 minutes nominally; higher in special rapid scan

modes). The visible channel can

depict lower-tropospheric cumuliform

tracers in areas not covered by opaque

cirrus. In terms of tropical cyclones,

visible winds can depict the low level

flow in the outer storm vortex region

which is an important area in assessing

storm motion. The GOES satellites

have an atmospheric sounder that

includes two water vapor channels

centered at 7.0μm and 7.3μm. These

sounder channels can be employed as

surrogate imagers to track water vapor

features radiating from the lower layers of the troposphere. The weighting

function of the 7.0μm channel peaks

around 450mb and the weighting function of the 7.3μm channel peaks

around 550mb. Water vapor winds

generated from these two channels will

compliment the imager-based clouddrift and water vapor winds, resulting

in an improved three-dimensional

depiction of the wind field. The implementation of these new algorithms and

the visible wind products into the operational environment at NESDIS began

in the end of March 1999. These wind

products can be viewed at

http://orbit-net.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes

and htttp://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time.

Atmospheric Moisture and Stability

Products

Research continues to improve the

atmospheric moisture and stability

products from the GOES-8 and GOES-10

sounder instruments. Precipitable

water for three layers of the atmosphere: surface to 900 hPa; 900-700 hPa;

and 700-300 hPa are computed from

the soundings. Total precipitable water

(TPW) for the entire atmospheric column, from the earch's surface to the

"top" of the atmosphere, is also computed. These precipitable water products are particularly valuable for the

short-term forecasting of precipitation,

locating those environments favorable

for heavy precipitation and flash

floods, thunderstorms, and fog.

Hourly updates of this information

provides useful information for the

EMC regional data assimilation systems and for weather forecasters out in

the field. EMC currently uses the

GOES precipitable water retrievals as

input to ETA Data Assimilation

System (EDAS) which provides the

initialization for the ETA forecast

model. NESDIS is currently aiding

EMC with running global and regional

model impact analyses to improve and

optimize the use of the GOES derived

products in numerical weather prediction schemes. At present, a blended

GOES, SSM/I, and model-derived

product is being evaluated. In addition, a PW product has been developed

from the NOAA-15 AMSU sensor, and

is presently undergoing evaluation. In

the near future, the blended product

will include the AMSU-derived PW. 

In addition to the moisture products,

numerous atmospheric stability indices

can be computed from measurements

made by the GOES sounder instrument. Two stability indices, the lifted

index (LI) and CAPE index, are computed on a routine basis. Since these

indices are produced hourly, sequential

images of these derived quantities

clearly show the diurnal and dynamic

changes associated with weather

events. So, in addition to providing

these data to EMC for use in numerical

weather prediction models, the graphical representation of these products

allows for the looping of the products

in time. This capability aids NWS

forecasters in the field, for example, to

understand the time evolution of

severe storms. 

It is anticipated that the GOES

sounder moisture and stability products which presently have a horizontal

resolution of approximately 50 km2

,

will be generated at a high horizontal

resolution of 30 km2 by the summer of

1999. These products can be viewed at

http://orbit-net.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes

and htttp://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu.

Precipitation Estimates

The Auto-Estimator produces halfhourly estimates of precipitation based

on GOES infrared data. This technique

was devised to replace the more manual "Interactive Flash Flood Analyzer"

(IFFA). The Auto-Estimator has an
SECTION 3 DOC 39

orographic adjustment factor and can

be manually adjusted for warm cloud

tops. Current improvements being

tested include using: 15-minute

images, radar and visible data (as a

rain/no-rain detector) and equilibrium

level temperatures from the ETA

model for warm top adjustments.

Other techniques are being tested such

as the GOES Multi-Spectral Rainfall

Algorithm (GMSRA), a combined

GOES and SSM/I rainfall algorithm

(developed at NRL/Monterey), and a

NOAA-15 AMSU based retrieval algorithm. The GMSRA uses all five

GOES imager channels and may be

merged with the Auto-Estimator after

the intercomparison is completed.

Finally, the POES based microwave

algorithms from the SSM/I and AMSU

sensors are being utilized to produce

automated tropical cyclone rainfall

potential estimates and global precipitation estimates are produced from

microwave data for climate monitoring

and analysis.

Microburst Products

Several experimental microburst and

convective wind gust products are

being tested. These products utilize

sounder data from both GOESEast/West to compute the maximum

possible wind gust and the potential for

both wet and dry microbursts over the

continental United States. They are

produced hourly during the convective

season and can be viewed at: 

orbit-net.nesdis.noaa.gov/arad/

fpdt/mb.html.

Low Cloud and Aircraft Icing Products

Detection of fog and low clouds, particularly at night, is important to aviation activities. A GOES product utilizing two infrared channels (10.7mm

and 3.9mm) can help determine the

areal extent of this cloudiness at night

over the continental United States and

Alaska every 30 minutes. An experimental fog depth image is produced

hourly. Fog products can be found at: 

orbit-net.nesdis.noaa.gov/arad/

fpdt/fog.html. By combining information from the visible and longwave

infrared (12.0mm) channels to the two

described above, areas of possible aircraft icing can be delineated. The icing

product is available hourly and can be

viewed at orbit-net.nesdis.noaa.gov

/arad/fpdt/icg.html

Geostationary Sea Surface Temperatures

GOES-8/9/10 are proving capable of

producing sea surface temperatures

(SST) over most of the Western

Hemisphere nearly continuously. The

accuracy and spatial resolution

achieved with the GOES measurements are close to that achieved from

the polar orbiting platforms and GOES

has a unique advantage of high temporal sampling frequency. For the SST

determination, the frequent sampling

by GOES makes a more complete map

of SST possible after clouds have

moved on. Cloud detection is

enhanced by noting that a change in

scene temperature over a short period

of time may indicate the presence of

clouds. The abundance of GOES

observations helps to maintain a balance between high quality cloud free

observations and good geographical

coverage of SST estimates. For the

first time, GOES is enabling quantification of the diurnal variation of a

radiometrically determined SST over

large areas and long periods of time.

This quantification may have important implications in both numerical

weather prediction and climate monitoring. NOAA/NESDIS has been producing the GOES SST hourly since

December 1998. An experimental

GOES SST product is being produced

from GOES-8 and GOES-10 imager

visible and infrared channels. Global

SST product is produced every three

hours; regional SST products are generated every hour. These products are

being evaluated for operational implementation in January 2000.

Volcanic Ash Monitoring

Techniques that use the imager and

sounder channels on GOES-East/West

are being developed to assist in the

tracking of volcanic ash cloud plumes.

One product that employs three channels (10.7mm, 12.0mm and 3.9mm)

has been developed and is under evaluation by NESDIS operations. Ash

cloud advisory statements are provided

by NESDIS operations to the aviation

community over southern North

America and northern South America.

The experimental volcanic ash product

is produced hourly for several active

volcanic areas and made available on

the Web at: orbit-net.nesdis.noaa.gov/

arad/fpdt/volc.html.

Fire and Smoke Monitoring

Algorithms are being developed to

detect fires and to monitor their growth

and the associated smoke coverage.

The GOES-8 split window data (at 4μ

and 11μ) have been used to assess

trends in South American burning

practices over the past four years (June

through October of 1995 through

1998); GOES detected the most fire

pixels in the tropical rain forest ecosystem in 1997. The application to clear

sky human-initiated burning in South

and Central America is now being

adapted to monitor cloudy sky lightning and clear sky human-initiated

fires in the Canadian provinces and the

continental United States. The continual monitoring from GOES (as often as

every 7.5 minutes) can assist firefighters plan evacuation and extinguishing

activities (see Figure 3-DOC-7).

NESDIS will be testing routine production of a fire product in fall 1999.

An Advanced Very High Resolution

Radiometer (AVHRR) fire detection

algorithm is being developed for use in

monitoring fire and smoke outbreaks

around the world. This algorithm is

being implemented in a Hazard

Mapping System that will provide analysts a means to look at fire and smoke

events as well as other environmental

hazards, and provide the data to users

and the media.

NPOESS

ORA continues to support the IPO in

acquisition of the next generation

instruments for NPOESS. ORA scientists continue to play an important role

in the evaluation of proposed contrac-
40 DOC SECTION 3 

tor sensor design and retrieval methods

during the ongoing selection process.

ORA scientists have created a variety

of "test bed" data sets that are being

used in the algorithm evaluation

process. This is accomplished through

participation in operational algorithm

teams with the long-term goals of

assuring capability to meet the

Environmental Data Records spelled

out in all IPO documentation. 

Ozone

Evaluation, calibration, and validation activities will take place for the

new Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet

Spectrometer/2 (SBUV/2) instrument

after the launch of NOAA-L in early

2000. A new ozone profile retrieval

algorithm (Version 7) is under development at NASA. As soon as it

becomes available, NOAA will begin

to incorporate it in its SBUV/2 processing systems. Monitoring of global

ozone will continue with the SBUV/2

instruments on NOAA-11, -14, and -L,

and with the Television and Infrared

Operational Satellite (TIROS)

Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS)

instruments on NOAA-14, -15 and -L.

The late-1998 Antarctic ozone "hole"

was the largest (in area) ever observed,

over 26 million square kilometers at its

peak. The hole lasted into late

December, making it one of the

longest-lasting of those observed in

recent years.

Land Surface Parameters for Use in

Weather Forecast Models

Satellite-derived fields of land surface characteristics are being prepared

for use in NWP models. These include

radiation products delivered in near

real time as forcing variables, surface

characteristics such as fractional green

vegetation and albedo that specify

model lower boundary conditions and

validation quantities such as surface

temperature. These products are meant

to help the NWP models maintain better soil moisture fields which in turn

results in better near surface temperature and humidity forecasts, and better

precipitation forecasts. These fields

now include POES based (SSM/I and

AMSU) estimates of surface emissivity, snow cover, sea-ice extent and concentration, land surface skin temperature, and soil wetness and development

of snow depth is underway. Forward

models for surface emissivity at various microwave frequencies have been

developed and are being tested in the

forecast models.

Clouds from AVHRR

Algorithms are being developed,

tested, and validated for determining

cloud optical and microphysical properties from imager data such as the

Advanced Very High Resolution

Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument.

These algorithms are in addition to

those already developed which estimate amounts and types for each

observed cloud layer. The four cloud

types are: L - Liquid Water Clouds; M -

Mixed Phase Clouds; G - Glaciated

Clouds (opaque); H - High Ice Clouds

(semi-transparent). Knowledge of

cloud properties is important for both

climate-scale and short-medium range

forecasts. Accordingly, algorithms and

processing systems to estimate cloud

properties from imager data are being

developed for both applications.

Assimilation of cloud properties into

NWP models is an objective of the

NCEP for improving short-medium

range forecasts. Other applications of

this work include the validation of simulated scenes to be used for evaluation

of new algorithm and instrument

designs which is supported by the IPO.

In addition, new algorithms are being

developed to produce optimal estimates of cloud properties from both

imager and sounder data such as the

merge of the AVHRR and TOVS

(TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder)

data. 

Aerosols

An algorithm for the correction of a

thermal radiation leak in the 1.6μ

reflectance channel of the Tropical

Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)

satellite's Visible Infrared Scanner

(VIRS) has been developed. It is being

applied to VIRS raw data prior to

application of the NESDIS operational

aerosol retrieval algorithm by NASA's

Clouds from the Earth's Radiant

Energy System (CERES) instrument

data processing team. Without this

correction, the aerosol optical thickness at 1.6μ would be overestimated

by as much as 200 percent, depending

on the temperature of the Earth's surface.

Figure 3-DOC-7. Smoke plumes from Northern California wildfires 

(GOES-8 Enhanced VIS)
SECTION 3 DOC 41

In FY 2000, we will validate retrievals

of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and

the Angstrom Exponent, a measure of

the size of particles in the atmospheric

column derived from optical thickness

measurements at 1.6μ, and 0.63μ, the

other reflectance channel of VIRS.

Validation will be accomplished by

comparison with sun-photometer

measurements of solar extinction at

five wavelengths from 15 island and

coastal locations established by

NASA's Aerosol Robotic Network

(AERONET). This algorithm will also

be applied to NOAA-L AVHRR data

(after its launch in early 2000) which

has the same two reflectance channels

as VIRS plus an 0.83μ reflectance

channel. This information on aerosols

will be used to correct for the attenuation of aerosol particles in the infrared

channels of the AVHRR instrument to

remove errors in the retrieval of sea

surface temperature. The correction

algorithm will initially be derived from

the multi-year archive from the AVHRR

Pathfinder Atmosphere (PATMOS)

data set using a single channel AOT

retrieval at 0.63μ. The long-term

record of AVHRR SSTs can be corrected for aerosol induced errors which

currently limit the utility of these data

for climate change studies. Finally, an

algorithm for the estimation of aerosol

optical thickness over dark vegetated

land surfaces will be developed in support of NASA's Global Aerosol

Climatology Project (GACP). It will

also utilize the PATMOS archive of

clear-sky reflectances at 0.63μ collocated with sun-photometer observations of AOT at non-coastal land based

AERONET stations to make empirical

adjustments to the surface reflectance

model used in the NOAA/NESDIS

operational aerosol retrieval algorithm

used over oceans. This will be the first

globally applicable aerosol retrieval

algorithm for land areas and will be

used by NASA and NOAA to create a

climatology of aerosol optical thickness over land for climate change studies.

Long-term Monitoring of NOAA-15

Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A

(AMSU-A) Performance

Since the launch of the NOAA-15

satellite, the AMSU-A level 1B data

have been captured from the Central

Environmental Meteorological Satellite Computer System (CEMSCS) at

NESDIS and stored on optical disks.

These data are used for off-line characterization of the instrument radiometric

performance on orbit. Over 20 important radiometric parameters are

extracted or calculated from the

AMSU-A 1B data. NOAA have

already demonstrated that the noise in

the observations in all channels is

lower (better) than that required by the

specifications, and in some channels it

is lower than estimates based prelaunch test results. In FY 2000,

NOAA will examine the other radiometric parameters. We will also continue compiling long-term trends of all

the parameters to provide us with a

better understanding of the instrument

performance. The PC-based software

developed for evaluating these data

will be improved for better efficiency

in processing the data. 

Calibration of the Visible and NearInfrared Channels of the Advanced

Very High Resolution Radiometer

The AVHRR flown on NOAA's

Polar-Orbiting Operational

Environmental Satellites (POES) is

recognized as an invaluable resource

for satellite-based studies of the Earth

system. The long-term records of geophysical products such as the

Normalized Difference Vegetation

Index (NDVI), columnar aerosols over

the oceans, cloud morphology, and

short-wave radiation budget play a

central role in climate and global

change studies by providing a means to

study the environment continuously. It

is thus very important to characterize

and document the in-orbit performance

of the AVHRR flown on the polar

orbiters. Toward this end, a very comprehensive program of post-launch calibration and characterization of the

AVHRR has been implemented to

ensure the accuracy, continuity, and

viability of the various AVHRRderived geophysical products, with

particular attention paid to the visible

(Channel 1: 0.58 - 0.68 μm), and nearinfrared (Channel 2: 0.72 - 1.1 μm;

Channel 3A: 1.58 - 1.64 μm) channels which do not have any onboard

calibration devices. The major program elements are: (a) development of

an optimal vicarious post-launch calibration technique, utilizing radiometrically stable calibration sites, model

simulations of the radiation measured

by the sensors, and simultaneous radiation measurements by the AVHRR

and by calibrated spectrometers

onboard aircraft; (b) enhancement of

available vicarious calibration techniques to improve attainable radiometric calibration accuracies beyond

± 5 percent; (c) evaluation of the feasibility of using the International Space

Station (ISS) as a platform to calibrate

satellite sensors in general, using

radiometers on the ISS traceable to the

National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST); (d) establishment

of the AVHRR as a traveling calibration standard to monitor the performance of sensors such as the imager on

the Geostationary Operational

Environmental Satellite (GOES), the

visible channel of the High-resolution

Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS),

the Moderate-resolution Imaging

Spectrometer (MODIS), and various

sensors to be flown on ENVISAT; and

(e) design of optimal onboard and

vicarious calibration techniques for the

visible and near-infrared sensors

planned under the National Polarorbiting Operational Environmental

Satellite System (NPOESS). The relevance and importance of these activities has been recognized by the national and international user community, as

evidenced by the appreciation and

endorsement of the Working Group on

Calibration and Validation (WGCV),

Committee on Earth Observation

Satellites (CEOS), and the Global
42 DOC SECTION 3 

Observing Systems Space Panel

(GOSSP). To ensure global access to

the results of the above program, and

recognizing the importance of the

AVHRR-derived products to national

and international programs, such as the

International Satellite Cloud

Climatology Project (ISCCP), the

International Geosphere Biosphere

Programme (IGBP), the Global

Climate, Ocean, and Terrestrial

Observing Systems (G3OS), and to

benefit from sensor calibration

research elsewhere, active liaison, and

collaboration in some instances, has

been established with researchers in

the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA), NIST,

European Organization for the

Exploitation of Meteorological

Satellites (EUMETSAT), China

Meteorological Administration,

Beijing, China; Rutherford Appleton

Laboratory, United Kingdom; National

Space Development Agency, Japan;

the NOAA/NASA Pathfinder

Program; several space agencies and

remote sensing laboratories outside the

United States, and academia both in

the United States and abroad.

Accomplishments to date include nearreal time updating of the calibration of

the AVHRR on NOAA-14; determination of the in-orbit degradation of the

AVHRR on NOAA-15 within six

weeks after launch, and the evaluation

of the performance of the visible channel of HIRS on NOAA-14, using the

AVHRR as a calibration standard.

Dissemination of the information

resulting from the calibration activity

is accomplished through presentations

at the meetings of learned and professional societies, publications in the literature, and through the electronic

media.

Calibration of Geostationary

Operational Environmental Satellite

Instruments

The wavelength configuration of

channels on the Geostationary

Operational Environmental Satellite-M

(GOES-M) Imager (due for launch in

CY 2002) will be slightly different

from that of its predecessors. The current 12μm channel will be replaced by

one at 13.3μm. The new channel will

employ a single detector with an 8-km

field-of-view at the Earth's surface.

The water-vapor channel at 6.7μm,

which on GOES I-L observes the Earth

with a single 8-km detector, will

employ two 4-km detectors on GOESM. To accommodate these revisions,

the calibration processing in the

ground system will be modified.

Radiometric testing of the instruments

on GOES-N and later satellites will

begin in late FY 1999 at the facilities

of their manufacturer, ITT. During

FY 2000, the test data will be analyzed

to characterize radiometric performance. The feasibility of a star-based

technique to measure the degradation

of the responsivities of the visible

channels of the GOES Imagers is being

tested in FY 1999. If successful, the

technique will be made operational in

FY 2000.

Pathfinder

Climate data sets of cloud amount,

aerosol optical thickness (AOT) over

the oceans, and the Earth's radiation

budget for clear and cloudy skies have

been retrospectively generated from

over 17 years of AVHRR data as part

of the NOAA-NASA Pathfinder program. Processing was temporarily

halted after the generation of August

1998 data products due to the fact that

the processing code is not Y2K compliant. Work to rectify this problem is

underway as well as to put in other

fixes that will improve the accuracy

and quality of the data products.

Resumption of the processing and

implementing the fixes are expected by

September 1999. An improved data

set spanning the period from July 1981

through the end of 1999 should be

available around January 2000. The

current data set is being utilized to

study the relationship between the

variation in global mean values of the

absorbed solar radiation and variation

in aerosol amount caused by major

volcanic eruptions. The influence of

the aerosol amount on variations in the

global surface temperature is also

under investigation. Analysis of time

series of anomalies of the cloud radiative forcing have been shown to correlate well (spatially and temporarily)

with El Niños. A second reprocessing

of the entire data set is being proposed,

where multiple-layered cloud data will

be used. The cloud data will be available in the very near future. Land surface and ocean products such as the

vegetation index and the sea surface

temperature will be added.

Ocean Surface Winds

Calibration and validation studies

are performed for all new operational

ocean surface wind data streams.

Product refinement and development

activities are currently underway to

improve ocean wind vector retrievals

in the high wind speed regime where

current retrieval algorithms underestimate the wind speeds. There are several satellite-based active and passive

microwave sensors planned for launch

in the near future that NOAA will have

the opportunity to obtain near real-time

data streams from. One of these sensors will be the first demonstration of

the passive polarimetric technique,

which is the technique that is being

depended on for the National PolarOrbiting Operational Environmental

Satellite System (NPOESS) to meet

the nations ocean surface wind vector

requirements.

Storm Signatures and Winds from

Synthetic Aperture Radar

ORA scientists are currently studying ocean surface wind signatures of

atmospheric fronts and storms with

synthetic aperture radar (SAR)

imagery. By sensing variations in

ocean surface roughness on the centimeter scale, SAR sensors can image

storms, atmospheric waves (such as

coastal lee waves), atmospheric fronts,

and coastal wind shadowing.

Techniques for calculating wind speed

(and under certain conditions direction

as well) are also under development. A
SECTION 3 DOC 43

near real-time demonstration of SAR

applications in Alaska is planned to

begin in the fall of 1999 using data

from the Canadian RADARSAT satellite. SAR images of the Bering Sea and

northern Gulf of Alaska will be provided to the NWS Anchorage WFO for

analysis of wind conditions, location

of polar lows, and position of the ice

edge. Wind speed images derived from

SAR will also be provided along with

other wind data such as scatterometer

winds to allow meteorologists at the

Anchorage office to assess the utility

of SAR data and derived products to

their operational weather analysis and

forecast activities. Before the year

2003, four new wide-swath SAR satellites are planned for launch. If data

acquisition and sharing arrangements

can be made to obtain access to SAR

imagery from this new constellation of

satellites, frequent routine SAR coverage of United States coastal areas will

be possible.

Ocean Color

Several programs at ORA are

involved in satellite ocean color

research. The Marine Optical Buoy

(MOBY) Project develops, deploys,

and maintains the MOBY off of the

coast of Lanai, Hawaii, to measure visible and near-infrared radiation entering and emanating from the ocean.

The resulting measurements support

the initialization and vicarious calibration of international and national ocean

color sensors, such as the Ocean Color

and Temperature Sensor, the SeaViewing Wide-Field-of-View Sensor,

and the soon to be launched Moderate

Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer.

The Marine Optical Characterization

Experiment (MOCE), MOBY's sister

project, involves the collection of in

situ measurements of these and other

parameters relevant to ocean color in

the surrounding region from ship.

Data from both sampling platforms

furnish a time-series of bio-optical

measurements that is employed to

track sensor drift, define bio-optical

relationships, validate satellite-derived

products, and develop ocean color

algorithms. In addition to MOBY and

MOCE, programs exist at ORA to routinely evaluate the accuracy of

NOAA/NESDIS operational ocean

color products and to develop algorithms in order to remotely detect and

predict the presence of noxious marine

biota, such as harmful algal blooms.

Coral Reef Watch: NOAA's Early

Warning System for Coral Reef Health

Like the rest of the world, most of the

United States coral reef systems are

threatened due to pollution, over-fishing, and thermal bleaching. This threat

includes almost all of Florida and Puerto

Rico reefs, nearly half of Hawaii's, and

an unknown but significant fraction of

United States Pacific Territories. The

widely-distributed and isolated location

of many coral reefs preclude normal

monitoring practices. In 1998, NESDIS

established an experimental capability

using NOAA (AVHRR) satellites to

conduct thermal bleaching surveillance

of coral reefs on a world-wide basis.

This experiment demonstrated remarkably accurate capabilities for early warning of El Niño-induced coral reef

bleaching conditions over all global

tropical ocean regions resulting in a special International Workshop on Satellite

Monitoring of Coral Reefs being convened in June 1999. A Coral Reef

Watch Program was proposed to

(1) transition existing experimental

satellite reef health monitoring capabilities into a viable operational capability,

(2) formalize the existing United States

leadership in the emerging global

"Virtual Coral Reef Ecosystem

Monitoring Laboratory," and (3) provide

for a solid scientific basis for future

monitoring and assessment

products/capabilities.

ENVIRONMENTALDATACENTERS

National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)

NCDC has the principal responsibility to manage the national climatological data program, including data and

information services. To meet this

responsibility, NCDC: 

 Performs all data management

functions regarding retrospective

meteorological data, including

data from in situ and remote sensing sources (satellites, radars, etc.).

These functions include acquisition, archiving, retrieval, indexing,

quality assessment, evaluation,

synthesis, dissemination, and publication of data collected by global

and national observation networks

or systems. Meteorological data

that have enduring value to the

Nation and are sufficient to

describe the climate are included.

 Designs and implements new systems, as necessary, for ingesting,

processing, quality control and

archiving of new data streams

from the NWS modernization program.

 Operates as a designated Agency

Records Center for processing,

storage, and servicing of retrospective meteorological data records. 

 Prepares and provides special

products and services to users, as

required, as a basis for regulatory

standards and policy decisions.

 Maintains national and global

databases for analyses of longterm climate trends and for monitoring global change. 

 Provides facilities, data processing

support, data exchange, and

expertise, as required, to meet

United States commitments to foreign nations, international organizations, and to the World

Meteorological Organization's

(WMO) programs. 

 Operates the World Data Center-A

(WDC-A) for Meteorology under

the auspices of the International

Council of Scientific Unions. In

this capacity, NCDC archives the

data collected by internationally

sponsored research programs and

actively exchanges climate data

with foreign countries.

NCDC is the archive for meteorological data sets from World Climate

Research Program and WMO World
44 DOC SECTION 3 

Climate Data and Monitoring Program

projects, such as the Tropical OceanGlobal Atmosphere (TOGA) Program,

the Global Precipitation Climatology

Program (GPCP), the International

Satellite Cloud Climatology Program

(ISCCP), etc.

National Oceanographic Data Center

The National Oceanographic Data

Center (NODC) supports climatic

services and research through its data

management and data services activities. NODC provides data management for major climate-related studies,

such as the TOGA program, the World

Ocean Circulation Experiment

(WOCE), and the Joint Global Ocean

Flux Study (JGOFS). NODC also provides data products and services individually to researchers as well as to

members of the operational marine

community, e.g., the Navy, Coast

Guard, and shipping industry.

NODC distributes on CD-ROM the

Atlas of Surface Marine Data, which

includes global surface marine observations, taken from Comprehensive

Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set

(COADS) files. It also includes objectively gridded fields of surface marine

fluxes of heat, momentum, and fresh

water. NODC also archives and distributes on CD-ROM surface marine

data collected by NOAA's Coastal -

Marine Automated Network (C-MAN)

stations, and NOAA moored buoys.

Both products are described on NODC

web pages, and made available

through the NOAA National Data

Centers' (NNDC) Online Store.

National Geophysical Data Center

The National Geophysical Data

Center (NGDC) manages geophysical

data and information resources for

NOAA and the scientific community.

NGDC participates in a number of

national and international programs

that collect and provide data for

research in meteorology, climatology,

and space weather. NGDC operates

the secretariat for the Scientific

Committee for Solar-Terrestrial

Physics and the World Data Centers for

Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Paleoclimatology, Marine Geology and

Geophysics, Solid Earth Geophysics,

and Snow and Ice under the auspices

of the International Council for

Science.

NGDC is responsible for several

meteorological and space weather

databases. Space weather data on

DMSP, GOES and POES satellites and

all scientific data collected on DMSP

satellites are officially archived by the

Solar-Terrestrial Physics Division.

NOAA's Paleoclimatology Program

which manages geophysical data used

to derive paleoclimate data and information is operated by the

Paleoclimatology Group. Cryospheric

data from ground-based and satellite

instruments are managed by the

National Snow and Ice Center which is

affiliated with NGDC.

WorldWide Web (WWW) technology in the 21st Century poses new challenges and opportunities for NGDC

and NNDC. NGDC have taken advantage of WWW-based applications

through improved data discovery,

automated inventories, on-line catalogs, data display, and data delivery

systems. As a result, the number of

users has increased dramatically.

Since most of the new users are less

familiar with the data than the regular

users, additional burdens are placed on

the NGDC and the other NNDC's to

assure that quality data is provided in a

display that is easy to understand and

in a format that is easy to use. At the

same time, new applications are under

development which increase the need

for quality data; they are the mining of

information from the data archives and

the running of data-driven numerical

models from remote locations.

Satellite and Computer Systems

NOAA's Defense Meteorological

Satellite Program (DMSP) at NGDC

prepares research quality data recorded

by scientific instruments on DMSP

operational satellites for retrospective

analysis and the official archive. Data

sets include visible, infrared and

microwave imagery, microwave

soundings and in situ measurements of

the space environment. The official

archive is used to prepare data products, derive geophysical parameters

including atmospheric and ionospheric

principal components, and provide

user services. New user services are

provided through the Space Physics

Interactive Data Resource

(www.ngdc.noaa.gov/dmsp).

NOAA's paleoclimate program to

assemble global information on paleoclimate is operated by NGDC. The

program has acquired many paleoclimate databases derived from geophysical data, namely tree-rings, pollen and

macrofossils, lake and bog sediments,

marine sediments, ice cores, and other

geological and biological sources.

Paleoclimate databases can be displayed, searched, and retrieved using

custom software

(www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo).

The Space Weather program at

NGDC, also known as SolarTerrestrial Physics (STP), prepares

research quality data of the near-Earth

Figure 3-DOC-8. NGDCs web site banner.
SECTION 3 DOC 45

space environment for retrospective

analysis and the official archive.

GOES, DMSP, and POES satellites

carry instruments that monitor the

space environment; for example, the

SEM instruments on GOES and POES

and the SSIES, SSJ/4 and SSM instruments on DMSP. Future instruments,

namely the GOES Solar X-Ray

Imager, the GEOSTORMS measurements of particles and fields, and the

DMSP Ultraviolet Imagers will greatly

increase both the use and volume of

space sensor data. Other data sets in

the space weather archives includes

measurements of solar activity, solar

flares, magnetic activity, magnetic

storms, ionospheric parameters, and

ionospheric storms collected by

NOAA and other agencies. The STP

program has a long and successful history of cooperating with NASA,

USGS, DOD, academia and other

NOAA components.

The STP program at NGDC archives

measurements of total solar and solar

spectral irradiance for use in climate

studies. The data sets are recorded on

NOAA and NASA satellites and irradiance values inferred from groundbased solar imagery

(www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/stp.html).

The National Snow and Ice Center

(NSIDC) at the University of Colorado

is associated with NGDC and maintains several cryospheric-related data

sets of interest to meteorology and climatology. These data sets include a

collection of historical photographs of

glaciers, temperature, pressure and

position data from drifting buoys

placed on the central Arctic pack ice,

and data from the NOAA snow cover

and DOD-NOAA sea ice chart digitizing projects. NSIDC provides data

management services for a variety of

cryospheric research programs sponsored by NASA and NSF. In addition,

NSIDC has developed gridded sea ice

products (sea ice concentrations and

multi-year ice fraction) based on passive microwave data collected by

NASA and DMSP satellites. NSIDC is

acquiring snow cover, glacier and sea

ice records from the former Soviet

Union. Online services are available at

www.colorado.edu/nsidc/nsidc.html.

SUPPORTING RESEARCH

Climatology

NOAA's paleoclimate program to

cooperate in research projects to use

the combined global paleoclimate

database for climate model verification

and climate change studies is operated

by NGDC. Objectives of the program

are to cooperate with researchers and

to conduct original research to describe

the global patterns of annual-to-millennial scale climate change, to understand the causes of climate change, to

separate man-induced climate change

from natural variability, and to validate

the models that are used to predict

future climates. Support is received

from the NOAA Climate and Global

Change Program. More information is

available at the NGDC website

(www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/paleo.html).

Remote Sensing

Operational meteorological satellite

imagery provide a unique opportunity

to monitor wildfires and population

dynamics on global and nightly bases.

NOAA's DMSP program at NGDC

uses the nighttime imagery to locate

sources of visible and infrared emissions including city lights, lightning,

fires, flaring gas, and boats. City lights

can be used to infer population density,

economic vitality, and carbon dioxide

emissions. Transient lights were used

to locate and track the disastrous wildfires in Borneo in 1997 and the

Amazon Basin in 1998 where groundbased and airborne measurements are

inadequate at best and impossible at

worst. More information is available

at the NGDC website

(www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/stp.html).

Wildfires Monitored from Space

Operational meteorological satellite

systems offer a unique opportunity to

monitor wildfires because each satellite records infrared emissions covering the entire globe each day.

Instruments designed to detect clouds

also "see" fires, many of which burn in

very remote areas. NGDC has developed a unique technique to capture

nighttime emissions from both large

and small wildfires. The system has

been used to assist firefighters in

Indonesia, Mexico, Middle America

and Amazonia. More information is

available at the NGDC website

(www.ngdc.noaa.gov/dmsp/globalfires).

Space Weather

The Space Weather program at

NGDC conducts original research in

space physics with an emphasis on

space weather applications. Research

focused on numerical modeling of the

ionosphere and magnetosphere is conducted with resident and visiting scientists from the United States and other

countries. Research projects use the

extensive integrated databases

archived at NGDC. In addition to

building better models and improving our understanding of ionospheric and magnetospheric plasma

processes, the research leads to

improved data sets and new data

products. More information is

available at the NGDC web site

www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/stp.html.
46 DOC SECTION 3

OFFICE OF OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH

ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH

LABORATORIES

Programs within the Environmental

Research Laboratories (ERL) support

various NOAA meteorological,

oceanographic, and space science missions. The activities of ERL laboratories are oriented toward providing the

scientific and engineering understanding, tools, and techniques that form the

basis of improved national weather and

climate services (Figure 3-DOC-9).

Within ERL, special emphasis is

placed on improving severe weather

and hurricane warnings and forecasts

and on improving the utilization and

dissemination of data and information.

Severe weather events include flash

floods, strong winds, thunderstorms

(including tornadoes, lightning, and

hail), heavy snowstorms, extreme cold

and heat, drought, and geomagnetic

storms. The key contributions to

improved hurricane forecasts fall

under the "Hurricanes at Landfall

(HaL)" focus of the United States

Weather Research Program (USWRP).

They include more accurate prediction

of track, intensity, surface winds, rainfall, and human impacts. In pursuit of

improved utilization and dissemination

of data, ERL laboratories conduct both

in-house and cooperative research with

other NOAA organizations, government agencies, joint institutes, universities, and the private sector.

Observing Technology. Two ERL

laboratories in Boulder, Colorado, and

on in Norman, Oklahoma, are heavily

involved with developing new environmental observing system technologies. The Environmental Technology

Laboratory (ETL) develops and evaluates new environmental remote-sensing concepts and systems. This development and the associated environmental research directly supports the

Nation's forecasting and warning services. A comprehensive view of the laboratory and its research can be found

on the Web (www.etl.noaa.gov). The

Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL)

(www.fsl.noaa.gov) takes promising

new scientific and engineering technologies from the research arena, helps

develop them into mature engineering

systems, and transfers these technologies to NOAA operations and the private sector. The National Severe

Storms Laboratory (NSSL)

(www.nssl.noaa.gov) located in

Norman, Oklahoma, both develops

new remote sensing systems and

assists in the transfer of these technologies to the NWS.

A major example of these activities

is the development of the world's first

major wind profiler network. An outgrowth of ETL basic research, FSL

now operates a network of 30 unattended wind profiling Doppler radars

that provide high resolution winds and

temperatures aloft to National Weather

Service (NWS) forecasters and modelers, universities, government

researchers, and the private sector.

The NOAA Profiler Network (NPN)

has made significant contributions to

improved forecasts and warnings since

its completion in 1992.

In a continued collaboration between

ETL and FSL, three NOAA profilers

were recently installed in Alaska to

support NWS volcanic plume tracking

and hazard mitigation. All three profilers transmit at the new operational frequency of 449 MHz. The engineering

requirements for the transition of wind

profilers from an experimental frequency allocation of 404.37 MHz

came from a collaborative effort

between FSL, ETL, and the United

States Air Force.

In another example of technology

transfer, FSL and ETL are collaborating with several universities, NOAA's

National Geodetic Service, and the

United States Coast Guard to develop

and deploy a network of surface-based

water vapor observing systems for

NOAA that utilize the Department of

Defense's Global Positioning System

(GPS). Some of these systems are

installed at NPN sites. ETL and FSL

will continue investigating the use of

GPS receivers (surface and spacebased) to achieve real-time, continuous

observations of atmospheric water

vapor for weather forecasting, climate

monitoring, and satellite data calibration and validation.

FSL is investigating the use of superpressure balloons in the stratosphere as

a platform for monitoring and observing the environment. Among the balloons' capabilities would be atmospheric soundings. The trajectory of the Figure 3-DOC-9. NOAAs Ronald H. Brown research vessel, university

aircraft, and Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array buoy.
SECTION 3 DOC 47

balloons could be controlled to some

extent by adjusting their altitude so as

to take advantage of the vertical shear.

The balloons would carry compact,

light-weight sondes whose locations

could be tracked as they fell toward the

surface. The balloons would comprise

a moderately priced global system.

A number of engineering tests have

already been performed at altitude by

piggybacking on a zero-pressure balloon launched by the Physical Science

Laboratory at New Mexico State

University. Telemetry was received

line-of-sight from a distance of over

200 miles, the storage batteries were

charged by solar panels, the proper

thermal environment was maintained

during the daytime heating cycle and

the instrument package was successfully recovered after descent by parachute. In FY 1999, a 60-foot diameter

super-pressure balloon will be tested

with an instrument payload.

During FY 1999, ETL and FSL will

continue development of new sensors and

innovative techniques for combining

observing systems synergistically and economically. One effort involves the development and testing of a new technique to

combine wind profiler and radio acoustic

sounding system (RASS) data to measure

humidity profiles through the planetary

boundary layer at profiler sites

(Figure 3DOC10). Other efforts

include developing tools and techniques to

integrate the data from surface-based and

satellite borne profiling systems for more

effective use of these data in forecasts.

In a new development, ETL has

demonstrated that tornadoes can be

detected well before touch down by

listening for their unique infrasonic

signatures. Infrasonic antennas located in the central United States have

been used to detect and locate numerous tornadoes. Verification has been

provided by Doppler radar and visual

sightings. This research effort is continuing and it is proposed that a network of these inexpensive infrasonic

systems be deployed at WSR-88D sites

to enhance early detection capability.

ETL will also continue development

of Lidars and infrared Doppler multifrequency radars as research tools to

improve our knowledge of atmospheric

winds, turbulence, and moisture

processes. Development of dual-polarization Doppler and multi-frequency

radars and passive radiometers will

also be undertaken to study convective

storms and their precursors, including

in-cloud and entrainment processes.

ETL will also continue research in the

area of ocean remote sensing, including

theoretical and experimental studies of

rough surface scattering processes.

The discussion of observing technologies would be incomplete without

mention of the North American

Atmospheric Observing System

(NAOS) Program. The overriding purpose of NAOS is to make recommendations on the configuration of the

upper air observing system over North

America and adjacent water areas.

Government organizations and universities in Canada, Mexico, and the

United States support NAOS. About

15 agencies from these countries have

representatives on the NAOS Council,

which identifies issues, sets priorities,

coordinates the work of the program,

and seeks financial support.

Eventually, the council will advise

governments how to: (1) improve the

utility of existing observing systems

and reduce costs, (2) design a costeffective observing system for the 21st

Century, and (3) evolve toward that

system from the present one. ERL representatives serve on the NAOS council and its two principal working

groups.

The NSSL, known for its role in the

development of the WSR-88D

NEXRAD radar, continues to improve

the software algorithms used by the

NWS forecasters. NSSL is also

exploring ways to enhance the

WSR88D hardware using dual polarization techniques. This is the first

step in preparing the WSR-88D fleet

for eventual implementation.

Tropical Atmospheric Research.

The Tropical Dynamics and Climate

Program of the Aeronomy Laboratory

(AL) is using a network of remotesensing wind profilers in a long-term

study of tropical circulation and its

impact on global climate. The TransPacific Profiler Network consists of an

array of wind profilers and Integrated

Sounding Systems that make continuous measurements of atmospheric

winds and other parameters in the tropical Pacific. In addition to 50 MHz

wind profilers, the network is incorporating 915 MHz lower tropospheric

wind profilers recently developed at

AL. The observations, which extend

from the boundary layer to the lower

stratosphere, reveal the relationship

between atmospheric vertical motions

and convective systems in the tropics.

Precipitation measurements can be

made with sufficient vertical resolution

to categorize precipitation in deep and

shallow convective systems and in

stratiform conditions. The network

will: (1) provide valuable improvements to the boundary layer and convective parameterization schemes used

in general circulation models and

(2) contribute to climate forecasting by

furthering the understanding of the

coupled ocean-atmosphere dynamics

that governs the El Niño-Southern

Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon, the

dominant component of interannual

climate change.

Routine wind observations are made

at Christmas Island using a 50 MHz

Figure 3-DOC-10. ETL Radio

acoustic sounding system.
48 DOC SECTION 3 

and 915 MHz profiler. Lower tropospheric wind measurements using

915 MHz profilers are made at San

Cristobal, Ecuador, and Tarawa,

Kiribati. In addition, surface and

upper air measurements are being

made at Nauru and Manus Island,

Papua, New Guinea, both now operated by the DOE, using Integrated

Sounding Systems installed by AL.

Recently, a shipboard wind profiler has

been brought into operation to provide

measurements throughout the equatorial Pacific as the ship tends to buoys

in the Tropical Atmospheric Ocean

(TAO) array. An additional profiler

was installed on the R/V Ron Brown to

gather data during the Pan American

Climate Studies (PACS) field program

in the eastern tropical Pacific in August

1997 and will again do so in 1999.

Data from these systems are used by

NCEP and the European Center for

Medium Range Weather Forecasting in

their operational analysis and forecast

products. The data are also used by

climate researchers to support investigations of the variability of tropical

atmospheric circulation systems.

Severe Weather Analysis and

Forecasting Research. The NSSL in

Norman, Oklahoma, focuses on

research to understand and forecast

severe weather systems and their associated hazards, such as tornadoes, hail,

high winds, heavy rain and snow, lightning, and ice storms. The parameters

of storm development and intensification are identified and studied by

incorporating observations from

Doppler weather radar, satellites,

remote-sensing wind profilers, instrumented aircraft, and lightning-location

networks. In addition, work includes

assessment and improvement of

numerical models to forecast severe

weather systems. 

NSSL provides significant technical

and scientific support, including

research and development, for the

WSR-88D program. In FY 1999,

NSSL will continue to develop techniques in cooperation with the NWS to

forecast and warn of weather hazards

to aviation and the general public.

Work with the resultant data from the

1994-1995 VORTEX experiment is

leading to new understanding of severe

thunderstorms and the tornadoes that

they spawn, to improved ways to

model and predict these storms, and to

new generation algorithms for severe

storm detection. Immediate technology transfer will be effected by close

association with the WFOs, such as

those in Norman, Oklahoma; Phoenix,

Arizona; Melbourne, Florida;

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Cleveland,

Ohio; Jackson, Mississippi;

Minneapolis, Minnesota; Fort Worth,

Texas; Denver, Colorado; and Salt

Lake City, Utah.

In addition, NSSL is continuing to

work closely with the NWS WSR-88D

Operational Support Facility to re-host

the Radar Product Generator, the

Radar Data Acquisition system, and

also the Principle User Position to an

open system platform. The re-hosting

will continue for the next several years

and will result in improved capabilities

for the WSR-88D. The new system

will ease the incorporation of new

applications, speed technology transfer, allow for incorporation of new

hardware technology, and increase the

portability of the software. 

Improvement of short-range (1-12

hour) forecasting will be accomplished

by the development and evaluation of

new local data system technologies

and techniques, many of which can be

incorporated into operational weather

forecasting in the near term. FSL

develops and evaluates prototype

workstations for forecast office environments. Specifically, FSL has and

will continue to develop capabilities to

allow the forecaster to integrate, view,

and manipulate observations from current and planned meteorological sensing systems using computer-assisted

data display and synthesis techniques.

By maintaining state-of-the-art capability for use in research and development of operational techniques, it continues to provide a mechanism to evaluate weather service requirements for

AWIPS.

FSL will continue efforts toward

effective assimilation of diverse observational data into numerical prediction

models. Data from the Aeronautical

Radio Incorporated (ARINC)

Communications, Addressing, and

Reporting System (ACARS), WSR-88D

Doppler radars, the NOAA Profiler

Network, and weather satellites, especially GOES, are frequent and provide

unprecedented resolution, either in the

vertical or the horizontal, or both.

These data are being more fully

exploited in the Local Analysis and

Prediction System which provides

highly detailed analyses and forecasts

over areas hundreds of kilometers on a

side, and the Mesoscale Analysis and

Prediction System, the basis for operational and frequent short-term forecasts for the lower 48 states. These

efforts contribute toward the NWS

modernization and restructuring.

ERL will continue to transfer knowledge of Doppler radar applications,

severe weather systems, and heavy

rainfall events; much of the transfer is

through courses at the NWS training

center. Visits and interactions with

NWS centers, regional headquarters,

and forecast offices continue and

NSSL is participating directly in training programs, such as the COMET in

Boulder and the WSR-88D

Operational Support Facility in

Norman.

A multi-year program of coastal

meteorology research continues at the

Pacific Marine Environmental

Laboratory (PMEL). This program

also involves ETL and NSSL, the

NWS Seattle WFO, NCAR, and the

University of Washington. Support for

the program is also being provided by

the Office of Naval Research (ONR)

and NSF. This research improves

understanding of the effects of prominent terrain on West Coast weather,

with the ultimate goal of providing

improved forecasts of coastal winds,
SECTION 3 DOC 49

precipitation, sea state, and storm

surges. The emphasis is on the

upstream effects of the coastal terrain

in the storm environment when the

background forcing is strong and the

coastal forecasts are most critical. The

approach involves special field observations and diagnostic studies using

experimental numerical simulations.

Field work featuring a NOAA WP-3

research aircraft in FY 1994 and 1996,

for example, has yielded meteorological data for the Pacific Northwest coast

with low-level winds of up to 85 knots,

in the vicinity of strong fronts and, in

one case, an intense, landfalling low.

The case studies from this work provide immediate insights on the influences of the coastal terrain on landfalling storms, and high quality data

sets for numerical model initialization

and validation. The results are providing information on how to improve

forecasts of Northwest weather.

Taking advantage of the 1997-98 El

Niño event, ETL led the California

Land-Falling Jets Experiment (CALJET)

with participation by PMEL, FSL, the

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL),

and the Naval Post Graduate School.

CALJET took place between

December 1997 and February 1998

and was designed to study the development of the pre-frontal low-level jet

along the coast of California. This

moist jet can cause severe, flooding

rains along and near the coast as it

impinges on the coastal mountains.

The large volume of data gathered during this experiment, including those

data from the NOAA P3 and from an

array of radar wind profilers along the

coast, will be analyzed throughout

FY 1998 and FY 1999 to determine the

mechanisms of jet development. This

knowledge will be used with numerical

models to improve the accuracy and

lead time of forecasts of heavy, flooding coastal rains in California. This

study is occurring with close cooperation between the scientists and the

NWS forecasters in California.

Mesometeorology and Precipitation

Forecasting and Warning Research.

NSSL develops techniques to improve

short-term forecasts of significant

weather events. Through detailed case

studies and regional climatologies, scientists have developed diagnostic tools

and aids for operationally forecasting

thunderstorms, lightning, flash floods,

and large mesoscale convective storms

complexes. Studies underway include

the precipitation structure of mesoscale

convective systems, the interactions

between mesoconvective systems and

the larger environment, the use of

satellites to infer storm development

and rainfall, and winter storm forecasting procedures. In FY 1999, NSSL

will continue to use polarization information to improve radar estimates of

rainfall that will be the key to improving short-term flash flood forecasts.

In addition, NSSL is working with

the NWS Storm Prediction Center

(SPC) to improve SPC abilities to provide winter weather guidance. NSSL

and SPC provided experimental forecasts of winter weather events to

improve our understanding and refine

our ability to provide severe winter

weather guidance products. In

FY 1999, NSSL will continue to support the SPC by providing improved

methods for winter weather and flash

flood forecasting.

Midlatitude Mesoscale Meteorology

Research. At the Aeronomy

Laboratory, the Atmospheric

Dynamics Program combines observational and theoretical studies of

mesoscale, high frequency atmospheric processes, focusing on internal gravity waves and vertical air motion. By

improving the understanding of these

dynamical processes, the research contributes to improvements in weather

forecasting and the transfer of

advanced meteorological measurement

technology to operational use. Data for

the studies is obtained from the 50 and

915 MHz wind-profiler radars at the

Flatland Meteorological Observatory.

The observatory makes continuous

horizontal and vertical wind measurements in the very flat terrain near

Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. The

observatory also includes a 915 MHz

RASS to measure temperature, an

array of 24 digital barometers spread

over Illinois, and standard surface and

balloon-borne instruments. The

research has shown that all enhancements of gravity-wave energy are associated with meteorological events,

such as fronts, convection, or jet

streams, and that such events always

cause enhancements. In 1995, a multiyear program was initiated to study the

dynamics of the atmospheric boundary

layer, including measurements of the

vertical entrainment velocity, which is

of great importance to the vertical

transport of trace species into the free

atmosphere.

Hurricane Analysis and Prediction

Research. The Hurricane Research

Division (HRD) of the Atlantic

Oceanographic and Meteorological

Laboratory (AOML) explores hurricanes in dedicated research flights

aboard the WP-3D aircraft operated by

NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center

(AOC). The P-3s carry a suite of

instruments to measure a wide-range

of meteorological quantities, including

standard flight-level data, precipitation

characteristics, remotely-sensed surface winds, vertical soundings, ocean

thermal structure, radar reflectivity,

and Doppler radar winds. In addition

to the airborne observations, HRD

develops techniques for real-time

analysis and display of hurricane data,

especially of surface winds. It also

carries out modeling and theoretical

studies closely tied to the observational program and studies interannual and

interdecadal changes in hurricane

activity.

The 1995-1998 hurricane seasons

were the four most active consecutive

ones in the >100-year quantitative climatology. There is a growing body of

evidence indicating that the relatively

low level of hurricane activity experienced in the 1970s and the 1980s is
50 DOC SECTION 3 

over and that the first decade or two of

the 21st Century will see a return to the

more active conditions that characterized the 1940-1960s. If this hypothesis

is true, land-use and development decisions made over the last two decades

may be inappropriate to the present

hurricane climatology and the need for

improved forecasting and informed

policy guidance will become pressing.

An exciting new tool for this effort is

AOC's newly commissioned

Gulfstream IV (G-IV) jet which successfully operated in the hurricane

environment for the first time during

the 1997 and 1998 seasons. The G-IV

extends the envelope of observations

throughout the depth of the troposphere. Use of these aircraft presents

an unprecedented opportunity for better understanding and forecasting of

hurricanes through detailed observations. Of special interest are the hurricanes' inner core, the oceanographic

and upper tropospheric synoptic-scale

forcings that control intensity and

motion, and the kinematics and thermodynamics of the near-surface

boundary layer. The GPS-based dropsondes procured as the G-IV's main

scientific payload have a vital role in

these investigations because of their

high vertical resolution and superior

thermodynamic and wind sensing

capability.

The 1998 season constituted the first

major field program for HaL carried

out in collaboration with NASA's

Third Convection and Moisture

Experiment (CAMEX-3). Its success

was unprecedented. NOAA and

NASA aircraft flew a total of 66 scientific sorties in hurricanes Alex, Bonnie,

Danielle, Earl, Hermine, Georges, and

Mitch. Participation by the G-IV and

NASA's DC-8 and ER-2 provided

extensive in situ observations above

the middle troposphere for the first

time since the 1960s. In addition to

airborne measurements, university

teams with instrumented towers,

mobile Doppler radars, and portable

profilers coordinated with HRD to

intercept hurricanes Bonnie, Earl, and

Georges as they passed onshore.

Current plans are to repeat this campaign in conjunction with CAMEX-4

in 2001.

The motivation for acquisition of the

G-IV was a statistically rigorous

demonstration, based upon more than a

decade of experiments with the P-3s,

that intensive observations of the flows

surrounding hurricanes can produce

dramatic (16-30 percent) reductions in

track forecast errors. Data from multiple-aircraft experiments involving the

G-IV and both WP-3Ds should confirm the GI-V's ability to improve forecasts. An intriguing possibility is

adaptive targeting of aircraft observations to regions where they will do the

most good. 

The forecast system currently has

limited skill in prediction of intensity.

Though continuing research with the

expanded aircraft fleet, the Nation can

realize large (tens of billions of dollars

per year) economic benefits through

more accurate routine operational track

forecasts. A second, equally significant, outcome is the promise of

dynamically-based, skillful intensity

forecasts. Because hurricanes inflict

huge costs on the United States economy, even incremental improvements in

forecasts have large benefit to expenditure ratios.

In addition to HRD research activities, the ERL scientists carry out hurricane research at the Geophysical Fluid

Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) in

Princeton, New Jersey. GFDL's

Hurricane Dynamics group performs

hurricane modeling research to study

the genesis, development, and decay of

tropical storms using multi-nested

three-dimensional computer models of

the hurricane system and its surrounding environment.

In the early 1990's, this research

model proved so successful for simulation of observed storm behavior that

the NWS adopted a version of it for

use in operational forecasting. During

the extraordinarily active 1995 and

1996 seasons, the GFDL model provided the most reliable hurricane-track

forecast guidance available and contributed substantially to the dramatic

error reduction in official forecasts that

has occurred since its introduction.

Numerical Analysis and Prediction

Modeling. As part of its weather

research activities, GFDL conducts

long lead-time research to understand

the predictability of weather on both

large and small scales and to translate

this understanding into improved NWP

models. Three groups at GFDL are

engaged in weather research activities:

Experimental Prediction, Mesoscale

Dynamics, and Hurricane Dynamics

(described above).

Experimental Prediction at GFDL

develops and improves numerical

models of the atmosphere-ocean-land

system in order to produce useful

weather forecasts with lead-times

ranging from weeks to seasons and

beyond. The group is pursuing several

avenues of research to achieve such

improvements. First, GFDL scientists

are investigating methods of stochastic

dynamic prediction in order to extract

as much forecast information as possible from numerical prediction models,

given imperfectly observed initial conditions. In addition, laboratory scientists are developing methods for the

assimilation of ocean observations into

prediction models in order to improve

the forecast of the atmosphere and the

ocean.

Mesoscale Dynamics at GFDL

develops and utilizes atmospheric

models with limited spatial domains to

understand mesoscale phenomena and

the interaction of these regional scale

features with the atmosphere's largerscale synoptic processes. As part of

these research activities, GFDL scientists investigate the practical limits of

forecast models to predict the behavior

of these mesoscale features through

model sensitivity studies. The FSL

implemented a Rapid Update Cycle

(RUC) at NCEP in 1994. The RUC
SECTION 3 DOC 51

gave a new analysis of surface and

atmospheric conditions every three

hours as well as short-range predictions for the next 12 hours. This information is useful to forecasters at local

NWS offices around the country and

also supports commercial and general

aviation.

A higher-resolution, higher-frequency version of the RUC was implemented at NCEP in February 1998. This

new version operates at 40-km horizontal resolution with 40 vertical levels and provides updates every hour,

thus, incorporating information from

virtually all high frequency data

sources: hourly wind profiles,

WSR-88D (Doppler radar) velocity

azimuth displays, ACARS reports (up

to 40,000 per day), cloud-drift winds

and estimates of total precipitable

water vapor from the GOES satellites,

and surface observations.

The new RUC also includes explicit

forecasts of cloud droplets, ice crystals, raindrops, snowflakes, and graupel (snow pellets). This improves forecasts of precipitation type. The RUC

exploits a new, multi-level soil and

vegetation model to improve forecasts

at and near the earth's surface. In

FY 1999, with the arrival of a larger

computer at NCEP, the way is open for

expanding the geographical domain of

the RUC and moving toward finer resolution of the computational grid

(20 km).

Along with NCAR, NCEP, and a few

universities, FSL is collaborating on

the development of a new mesoscale

model, the Weather Research and

Forecast (WRF) model. The goal of

this development, from the beginning,

is that the WRF model should become

a community model and a tool both for

experimental and operational prediction, thus paving the way for quick

realization of research advances in

forecast dissemination to the public

and industry.

Air Quality Research. The Air

Resources Laboratory (ARL) carries

out research on processes that affect

the quality of the atmosphere, primarily in the context of air pollution deposition and emergency preparedness.

Much of this work is in collaboration

with other agencies, such as DOE and

DOD. ARL's research focuses on the

lower atmosphere, where the atmosphere is in direct contact with other

media - aquatic, terrestrial, and biospheric.

The ARL Headquarters Division in

Silver Spring, Maryland, develops

models for air quality prediction, for

use in special forecasting (both weather and air quality) programs and in

emergency response. The Atmospheric

Sciences Modeling Division, in

Research Triangle Park, North

Carolina, develops predictive models

on local, regional, and global scales for

assessing changes in air quality and air

pollution exposure as affected by

ecosystem management and regulations. This work is primarily to provide technical guidance to the

Environmental Protection Agency on

air pollution control strategies for

attainment and maintenance of ambient air quality standards. The

Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion

Division, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,

conducts studies to improve understanding of atmospheric transport, diffusion, and air-surface exchange

processes, and to develop new predictive models. The Field Research

Division, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, designs

and conducts field studies to evaluate

the performance of transport and dispersion models, over local, regional,

and continental scales. The Special

Operations and Research Division, in

Las Vegas, Nevada, conducts research

on problems of mutual interest to

NOAA and DOE that relate to the

Nevada Test Site, its atmospheric environment, and its emergency preparedness and emergency response activities.

ARL operates two national networks

that focus research on the needs of the

next generation of predictive models.

The Atmospheric Integrated Research

Monitoring Network (AIRMoN) is a

nested-network with sites of varying

complexity addressing evolving scientific issues of wet and dry deposition

from the atmosphere. A major current

item for scientific attention is the

atmospheric deposition of nitrogen

compounds and its role in promoting

eutrophication of ecosystems, primarily coastal. The ARL-run Integrated

Surface Irradiance Study (ISIS) serves

as the national array of monitoring stations for solar radiation (and ultraviolet-B) with a subset of more advanced

stations (the SURFRAD array) where

both incoming and outgoing radiation

components are monitored. Many of

the SURFRAD stations are augmented

with instrumentation to measure fluxes

of sensible heat, latent heat, momentum, and carbon dioxide. Thus, the

SURFRAD program is evolving into

one of complete energy balance with

supporting data on carbon dioxide

exchange. This work forms an intersection with the new flux measurement

networks in the United States and

overseas, referred to as "Ameriflux"

and "Fluxnet." All of this work is coupled with ARL research on atmospheric aerosols and with the development

of new automatic methods for measuring cloud cover.

Much of ARL's research focus is on

expressing air surface exchange

processes in numerical models. To this

end, ARL scientists have been instrumental in developing methods for

describing areal air surface exchange

appropriate for use with model grid

cells of several tens of kilometers on a

side. To test the aerial integration

capabilities, ARL has instrumented an

aircraft of the NOAA fleet (a

DeHavilland Twin Otter) to measure

all of the eddy fluxes as well as a number of trace gas exchange rates. This

instrumented aircraft has been used in

several field experiments and has

already demonstrated that considerable

error can result when local values are

inappropriately taken to represent larger areas.
52 DOC SECTION 3 

ARL also provides forecast support

to NOAA's emergency response systems with emphasis on nuclear and

volcanic events. For this application,

ARL develops and couples advanced

mesoscale models with the forecast

products of the NWS to provide a basis

for trajectory and dispersion calculations. Users also may access these

products through the Internet.

The Aeronomy Laboratory (AL)

conducts research on air quality as part

of its tropospheric chemistry program.

A primary focus is on understanding

the processes of near-surface ozone

formation in rural regions. Field experiments, laboratory work, and numerical modeling studies assess the relative

roles of natural hydrocarbons emitted

from vegetation, anthropogenic hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides in controlling ozone production. A series of

field experiments have been conducted

in recent years in the southeastern

United States, a heavily vegetated

region which frequently experiences

elevated levels of ozone. Since 1994,

these field studies have expanded to

include measurements from an aircraft

platform, the NOAA WP-3D, in addition to ground-based observations. In

certain areas, analysis of the data has

linked ozone production most strongly

to anthropogenic nitrogen oxides and

natural, but not man-made, hydrocarbons. It has also underscored the

regional nature of the ozone formation

process and suggested that some

municipalities are affected by events

beyond their control. These results

have implications for the efforts of

states to develop strategies to improve

air quality in the region.

Ozone production on the global scale

is being studied by AL in the North

Atlantic Regional Experiment. The

study has been undertaken in response

to the growing realization that longrange transport of "greenhouse" ozone

may influence atmospheric composition and climate on an interhemispheric scale. Comprehensive chemical and

dynamical measurements, made from

both ground-based and from airborne

platforms during several field missions

of this experiment, track the changing

composition of air masses containing

pollutants from eastern North America

as these air masses are carried into the

North Atlantic. Results indicate that

the quantity of ozone generated photochemically from anthropogenic emissions on the North American continent

exceeds that injected from the stratosphere. This conclusion supports the

contention that ozone derived from

anthropogenic pollution has a hemisphere-wide effect at northern temperate latitudes.

ETL uses its suite of remote sensors,

including a mobile profiler network,

airborne and ground-based ozone

Lidars, Doppler Lidar, and supporting

turbulence instrumentation to understand and better model the transport,

transformation, and fate of primary

and secondary pollutants in both rural

and urban environments as well as in

complex orography.

Space Environment Services.

NOAA and the Air Force jointly operate the National Space Weather

Operations group in NOAA's Space

Environment Center (SEC) in

Boulder, Colorado. The SEC, working

closely with the Air Force's 55th Space

Weather Squadron (55 SWXS), provides forecasts, alerts, indices, and

summaries of disturbances occurring

on the Sun, in space, in the geomagnetic environment, and in the upper

atmosphere. The services are used by

DOD, DOT, DOC, DOI, DOE, NASA,

NSF, commercial users, and the

research community:

 To optimize the operation of technical systems that are adversely

affected by disturbances in the

space environment.

 To carry out research in the solarterrestrial environment.

Examples of the adverse effects

include loss or reduced efficiency of

communication systems, radiation hazards to personnel and systems in high

altitude aircraft and in space, degradation of surveillance and monitoring

systems for defense, errors in navigation systems, perturbations of satellite

orbits, and disruptions in power distribution networks.

SEC serves as the international

World Warning Agency for the solarterrestrial environment. It collects

international datasolar-wind, X ray,

sunspot, corona, magnetic, etc.--in

real-time and from these data provides

International URSIgram and World

Days Service and meets additional specific needs of other government agencies. SEC distributes (receives) data to

(from) other countries and issues a

consensus set of daily forecasts for

international use. There is also a substantial and rapidly growing customer

base in the private sector.

SEC operates with observations

received from agencies that contribute

their data and, in return, receive the

synthesized and integrated services to

meet their needs. Agencies making

major contributions of data include:

DOD, NASA, DOC, NSF, DOE, and

DOI. SEC cooperates directly with

NESDIS to receive solar X-ray, particle, in situ magnetic field, and plasma

data from the SEM on GOES and the

polar-orbiting NOAA satellites. Data

are collected, stored, and displayed for

analysis and products and distributed

to outside customers primarily via the

Internet (www.sec.noaa.gov), by

NOAA Weather Wire, and digital data

links (primarily operated by other

agencies). Radio broadcast, mail, and

recorded telephone messages are available to users as well.

Over the past year, SEC has instituted a large number of new capabilities

and products which represent a major

leap forward in space weather services.

New, real-time solar-wind data are

allowing SEC to extend the warning

time for several geomagnetic storms

from 0 minutes (Nowcast) to up to 1

hour in advance. SEC's Rapid

Prototyping Center (RPC) has flourished under a Cooperative Research

and Development Agreement
SECTION 3 DOC 53

(CRADA) partnership. In March,

1998, SEC also initiated test products

from the Magnetospheric Specification

Model (MSM) - the first numerical

model being transitioned into operations through the developing RPC

mechanism. With its initial infrastructure and concept of operations developed through a CRADA partnership,

the RPC is planned to grow into the

primary mechanism for transitioning

National Space Weather Program

sponsored models into operations. In

addition to these technical advancements, users will also benefit from

24 hour a day forecaster staffing

implemented in October 1998.

Military. The United States Air

Force operates the 55 SWXS in

Colorado Springs, Colorado, to provide space weather support to DOD

assets. The 55 SWXS operates and

maintains the solar observing network

with sites at Palehua, Hawaii;

Learmouth, Australia; San Vito, Italy;

Ramey, Puerto Rico; Sagamore Hill,

Massachusetts; and Holloman AFB,

New Mexico. The 55 SWXS shares

space weather support responsibilities

with its civilian counterpart the SEC. 

Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS)

Program. OAR operates a global VOS

program that provides real-time meteorological and oceanographic data

from selected vessels. Data are collected with the Shipboard Environmental

Data Acquisition System, which transmits the information to NOAA via the

GOES system. The information is then

disseminated nationally and internationally using existing data networks.

Presently, there are over 120 vessels in

the program which record and transmit

surface meteorological information

four times per day at synoptic hours. Of

these vessels, about 60 vessels are also

equipped to collect expendable

bathythermograph data.

Southern Hemisphere Drifting Buoy

Program. In support of Global Climate

Observing System (GCOS) requirements, OAR, in cooperation with

NWS, OGP, AOML, and the Scripps

Institution of Oceanography, maintains

a network of approximately 100 meteorological drifting buoys in the

Southern Hemisphere. The buoys

measure sea level atmospheric pressure, air temperature, and sea water

temperature. Observations are

obtained through the ARGOS data collection and platform location system

on-board the NOAA polar-orbiting

satellites.

Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO)

Moored Array. OAR is a partner with

OGP in the implementation of the TAO

moored-buoy array. TAO is a basinwide array of moored ATLAS buoys

deployed in the tropical Pacific that

report surface wind, air temperature,

sea surface temperature, 10 subsurface

temperatures to a maximum depth of

500 meters, and 2 subsurface pressures

in real-time via the ARGOS system.

There are 69 buoys deployed. The

array is operated by the TAO Project

Office located at PMEL in Seattle,

Washington, which has responsibility

for management of project operations

and logistics. While the principal

objective is to support research objectives, the real-time availability of data

makes it extremely valuable to operational meteorological centers

(www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga~tao/home.html).

The Global Drifter Program. The

Atlantic Oceanographic and

Meteorological Laboratory, in Miami,

Florida, manages the deployment of

drifting buoys around the world,

deploying some 300 new drifters annually and tracking nearly 700. Using

research ships, Volunteer Observation

Ships (VOS), and United States Navy

aircraft, Global Lagrangian Drifters

(GLD) are placed in areas of interest.

Once verified operational, they are

reported to AOML's Data Assembly

Center (DAC). Incoming data from the

drifter are then placed on the Global

Telecommunications System (GTS)

for distribution to meteorological services everywhere. The primary goal of

this project is to assemble and provide

uniform quality control of SST and

surface velocity measurements. These

measurements are obtained as part of

an international program designed to

make this data available in an effort to

improve climate prediction. Climate

prediction models require accurate

estimates of SST to initialize their

ocean component. Drifting buoys provide essential ground truth SST data

for this purpose. The models also

require validation by comparison with

independent data sets. Surface velocity measurements are used for this validation.

NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN.

NOAA recently installed and deployed

a 5-cm Doppler precipitation radar to

conduct studies of atmospheric

processes over the ocean. The system

has been shown to not only be effective for studying convective processes

but also processes associated with

marine stratus clouds. In late 1999,

NOAA will install a next-generation

shipboard wind profiler on the

RONALD H. BROWN that is presently in development at the ETL. This

profiler will be electronically stabilized (as opposed to the mechanically

stabilized systems used on board ships

to date) and will employ some new

clutter-screen techniques to reduce

interferences and obtain profiles much

closer to the surface than have been

possible to date.
54 DOC SECTION 3

The National Ocean Service (NOS)

monitors, assesses, and forecasts conditions in the coastal and oceanic environment to support effective management, promoting a healthy, safe, and

economically productive coastal and

oceanic environment for present and

future generations. NOS is the primary civil agency within the federal

government responsible for the health

and safety of our Nation's coastal and

oceanic environment. NOS acquires

water levels, currents, winds, and other

physical oceanographic and meteorological data, and distributes these data

and circulation predictions as elements

of an integrated NOS program. These

programs provide a comprehensive

science-based suite of information

products required by the marine transportation community to ensure safe

and efficient marine transportation,

including the transport of oil and other

hazardous materials. NOS, also, provides coastal oceanographic and meteorological products required by the

NWS to meet its short-term weather

and forecasting responsibilities including tsunami and storm surge warnings/forecasts.

National Water Level Observation

Network (NWLON). NOS manages

the NWLON, 189 stations located

along the coasts of the United States

and the Great Lakes, from which water

level data, as well as other oceanographic and meteorological data, are

collected and disseminated. NWLON

provides a number of NOAA and other

federal programs with data and supporting information, such as the

NOAA Tide and Tidal Current

Prediction program, NWS Tsunami

Warning System, NWS storm surge

warning/forecast activities, and the

Climate and Global Change Program.

An event triggered NWLON modification is now operational that allows

emergency "Tsunami Warning" GOES

transmissions to NWS when the water

level exceeds a specified high/low

limit or when the rate of change

between the standard 6-minute water

level values exceeds a specified value.

The NOS Continuous Real-Time

Monitoring System (CORMS), now

operational, was designed to operate

on a 24 hour/7 days a week basis to

ensure the accuracy of tide and current

observations acquired via the National

Water Level and Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS)

Programs. CORMS improves the

overall data quality assurance of realtime measurements, reduces NOAA's

potential liability from disseminating

inadequate data, and makes the observations more useful for all applications. CORMS ingests real-time data

from all field sensors, determines data

quality, and identifies and communicates the presence of invalid or suspect

data to real-time users/customers who

rely on the data. 

Physical Oceanographic Real-Time

System. PORTS is a decision support

tool which improves the safety and

efficiency of maritime commerce and

coastal resource management through

the integration of real-time environmental observations, forecasts, and

other geospatial information. PORTS

measures and disseminates observations and predictions of water levels,

currents, salinity, and many meteorological parameters, e.g., winds and visibility, needed by the mariner to navigate safely.

PORTS systems come in a variety of

sizes and configurations, each specifically designed to meet local user

requirements. The largest of NOS'

existing PORTS installations is comprised of over 26 separate instruments.

The smallest consists of a single water

level gage and associated meteorological instruments, i.e. winds, barometric

pressure, etc. These smaller PORTS

installations are referred to as "PORTS

Lite." Full systems are presently

installed in Tampa, New York, San

Francisco, and Houston/Galveston.

PORTS Lite systems are presently

installed at Tacoma, Washington, and

the Chesapeake Bay.

Regardless of its size, each PORTS

installation provides information that

allows shippers and port operators to

maximize port throughput while maintaining an adequate margin of safety

for the increasingly large vessels visiting United States ports. In addition,

prevention of maritime accidents is the

most cost effective measure that can be

taken to protect fragile coastal ecosystems. One major oil spill, e.g.

EXXON VALDEZ, can cost billions of

NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE

Figure 3-DOC-11. PORTS supports safe and cost-efficient navigation

by providing ship masters and pilots with accurate real-time information required to avoid groundings and collisions. 
SECTION 3 DOC 55

dollars and destroy sensitive marine

habitats critical to supporting coastal

marine ecosystems. PORTS provides

information to make navigation safer,

thus, reducing the likelihood of a maritime accident, and also provides the

information necessary to mitigate the

damages from a spill, should one

occur.

In late 1997, NOAA signed a

Cooperative Research and

Development Agreement (CRADA)

with the Ocean, Radar and Sensor

Systems Division of the Lockheed

Martin Corporation (LM). The purpose of this CRADA is to collaborate

on the research and development needed to commercialize NOAA's PORTS

technology. An extensible PORTS can

be integrated with other marine transportation technologies, such as

Electronic Chart Display Information

Systems and Vessel Traffic Systems.

Also, new developments will enable

PORTS to incorporate biological and

chemical sensor systems and integrate

the information with circulation measurements to provide information on

transports of materials in the ecosystem essential for effective marine

resource management.

The integration of PORTS technology and numerical circulation models

allows nowcasts and predictions of

parameters within the boundaries of

the models even at locations where

physical measurements are not available. The Chesapeake Area Forecasting Experiment (CAFE) is an NOS

project that provides forecasts of total

water level within the Chesapeake Bay

in addition to the astronomical tidal

prediction. Using wind observations

from multiple locations to help force

the model, the 1-year rms-difference

between the modeled and observed

water level at Baltimore is 9.4 cm. 

Ocean Systems Test and Evaluation

Program. The goal of the planned

Ocean Systems Test and Evaluation

Program (OSTEP) in Norfolk,

Virginia, is to provide oceanographic

and marine meteorological data quality

assurance for NOS observations and

derived products and services. The

four objectives of OSTEP are:

(1) evaluation of new technology for

use in measurement systems, (2) integration and testing of field measurement systems, (3) development, test,

and evaluation to determine measurement system readiness for operational

deployment, and (4) life cycle evaluation of system performance, operations, and maintenance. NOS will provide the capability through a partnership with the Naval Surface Warfare

Center/Carderock Division, the

National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST), commercial partners, and the Cooperative Institute for

Coastal Physical Oceanography located at Old Dominion University.
56 DOC SECTION 3

The Aircraft Operations Center

(AOC) provides aircraft support to

many NOAA missions, several of them

associated with the Natural Disaster

Response Initiative (NDRI). In particular, AOC operates a fleet of aircraft to

support NOAA's research and development programs to improve weather,

marine, and climate services. It provides hurricane reconnaissance and

surveillance support to NOAA's

National Hurricane/Tropical Prediction Center with its Lockheed WP-3D

and Gulfstream IV (G-IV) aircraft

(Figure3-DOC-11) as well as flight

services to other federal agencies and

international programs approved by

NOAA's Aircraft Allocation Council

(NAAC). AOC's light aircraft provide

aerial photography for nautical and

aeronautical charting and living marine

resources surveys. 

AOC was established in October

1983 through a consolidation of all

existing NOAA organizations and elements operating NOAA aircraft. This

consolidation was accomplished to

achieve a more efficient, more economical and safer operation of NOAA

aircraft. Fourteen aircraft, located

throughout the United States, are managed by AOC from its home base at

MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida.

NOAA's atmospheric and oceanographic research, as well as its reconnaissance operations, are supported by

two WP-3D Lockheed Orion aircraft

which carry a full array of state-of-theart environmental research instrumentation. The aircraft research and navigation systems provide detailed spatial

and temporal observations of a wide

range of atmospheric and oceanic

parameters. AOC develops and calibrates specialized instruments, integrates user-supplied instrumentation

into its automated dated recording systems, and processes and analyzes data sets

collected during various field programs.

AOC recently integrated into its

operation a new, high-altitude jet, the

G-IV, which is used for hurricane surveillance. This aircraft flies in the

environment surrounding hurricanes at

altitudes up to 45,000 feet. The G-IV

dispenses the new GPS dropwindsonde

and transmits the resulting profiles of

thermodynamic and wind information

to the NCEP and the NHC for inclusion in their computer prediction models. Initial estimates of the improvement in hurricane track predictions for

the two hurricane seasons to date is

between 20 and 30 percent, and these

improvements are expected to result in

future savings of $10 million or more

per hurricane in warning and preparedness costs. With its high-altitude capability, the G-IV is the central focus for

additional research leading to improvements in hurricane intensity forecasts.

With the addition of instrument pods

and the installation of additional

instrumentation this year, the aircraft

will also be used for air chemistry

studies and other research in the upper

troposphere.

The AOC WP-3D aircraft, while

executing the complex patterns for

hurricane research, also provide storm

data to the NHC in near real time,

transmitting flight level data, dropwindsonde messages, and radar images

via its aircraft-satellite data link. The

AOC aircraft have primary reconnaissance responsibility for tropical storms

and hurricanes in foreign airspace and

also augment Air Force Reserve

(AFRES) aircraft reconnaissance during particularly active storm periods

when tasking requirements exceed

available resources. 

Land-falling hurricanes, a major

subject of the USWRP and NDRI,

receive particular attention from AOC

aircraft. During the 1998 hurricane

season, the G-IV and the WP-3D aircraft flew a combined total of over 400

surveillance, reconnaissance, and

research hours on Atlantic storms that

made or nearly made landfall in the

continental United States. Joining with

the AFRES and NASA aircraft, the

three NOAA planes participated in the

first multi-agency hurricane research

experiment since Stormfury, a hurricane modification project that took

place in the early to mid-70's. The

Convection and Moisture Experiment

III (CAMEX-3) experiment focused on

the measurement of cloud moisture

using a variety of space-borne and aircraft mounted remote sensors. The

NOAA WP-3D's, with their in situ

measurements, doppler radar observations, and cloud particle sampling will

provide the much-needed "groundtruth" for this ambitious effort.

OFFICE OF NOAA CORPS OPERATIONS

AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS CENTER

Figure 3-DOC-11. NOAAs Gulfstream IV (G-IV)

will conduct high altitude research.
METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES

The Air Force functional manager for

meteorological and space environmental services is the Director of Weather

(HQ USAF/XOW), within the HQ

USAF, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air

and Space Operations. HQ USAF/XOW

oversees the development and implementation of weather support concepts, doctrine, policies, plans, and

programs to ensure effective weather

support for the Air Force, Army, and

other agencies as directed by the Chief

of Staff, USAF. The Air Force also

provides support to DOD Joint operations as directed by the Joint Chiefs of

Staff under the Unified Action Armed

Forces (JCS Publication 0-2) document. HQ USAF/XOW interfaces

with other military departments, federal agencies, and international organizations concerning coordination, cooperation, standardization, and interoperability of weather services.

The Air Force Weather Agency

(AFWA) is a field operating agency

(FOA) reporting to HQ USAF/XOW.

The AFWA provides centralized

weather support to designated users.

The AFWA has two subordinate centers: the Air Force Combat

Climatology Center (AFCCC) and the

Air Force Combat Weather Center

(AFCWC). Air Force Space

Command provides space environmental support through the 55th Space

Weather Squadron (55 SWXS).

Observations. Meteorological observations are classified as surface, upper

air, radar, or satellite observations.

Observation and sensing of the space

environment are discussed in the Space

Environmental Services section.

Surface observations are taken by Air

Force personnel to support military

operations and for weather analysis

and forecasting. Observations from

both Air Force and Army locations

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE WEATHER PROGRAMS

The Department of Defense (DOD) operates a military environmental service system to provide specialized worldwide

meteorological, space environmental and oceanographic analysis and prediction services in support of military forces.

This system directly supports all phases of military operations, from strategic planning to tactical operations. While the

Army and Marine Corps each have a small specialized weather support capability, the Naval Meteorology and

Oceanography Command and Air Force Weather are the primary sources of military weather products. The military

weather services contribute to the national and international weather observing capability by taking conventional observations on land and at sea where there are no other conventional weather observing capabilities and where the observations are most needed to meet military requirements. In addition, DOD maintains specialized observing capabilities,

such as the Defense Meteorological Satellite and Global Weather Intercept Programs, to meet unique military requirements. Observational data are sent by military communications networks to military and civil facilities in the United

States and overseas.

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

SECTION 3 DOD 57

Figure 3-DOD-1. DMSP imagery of cloud cover over Iraq.
58 DOD SECTION 3

(fixed and tactical) are made available

to local users and are transmitted to

AFWA and to other military and civil

locations throughout the world.

Upper air observations provide a

major input for numerical analysis and

forecasting. Most of this information

comes from United States and foreign

rawinsonde sources and military and

civilian satellite-derived data.

Additional upper air information is

obtained from military and civilian

pilot reports.

Weather radar is a principal source of

information for providing warnings of

severe weather. Many of the radars are

part of the United States basic weather

radar network or are used to support

the National Hurricane Operations

Plan. The tactical weather radars are

used to support contingency operations. The Air Force is evaluating concepts for a tactical Doppler weather

radar which could operate in both

mobile and fixed locations.

The Air Force manages the Defense

Meteorological Satellite Program

(DMSP), which provides a large volume of cloud, upper air, and space

environmental data, and is the most

important single source of global

weather data used for combat support.

On-board sensors provide AFWA,

55 SWXS, and the Navy's Fleet

Numerical Meteorology and

Oceanography Center (FNMOC) with

visible, infrared, and microwave

imagery of the entire globe, temperature and moisture sounding data, auroral electron counts, and other specialized space environment data. DMSP

also supplies direct, real-time readout

of regional image and mission-sensor

data to DOD land-based and shipborne

terminals located worldwide.

The present DMSP satellite series

(Block 5D-2) uses an operational linescan system. The visible detectors were

selected to optimize distinction among

clouds, ground, snow, and water. It

uses both stellar and inertial references, together with on-board processors, to maintain stability and pointing

accuracy. The DMSP also flies a

microwave temperature and humidity

sounder (SSM/T, SSM/T-2) which provides vertical temperature, moisture,

and height profiles of the atmosphere.

The microwave imager (SSM/I)

observes rainfall, ocean surface wind

speed, cloud and soil moisture, ice

conditions, and other environmental

data.

Communications. The Air Force

communications system uses a variety

of media to meet the needs of its worldwide customer base. Asynchronous

Transfer Mode (ATM) fiber optic networks are used to distribute high-resolution satellite imagery and forecast

data from global numerical weather

prediction models between large DOD

and civilian processing centers.

Commercial T-1 circuits provide a

subset of this data to new theater and

regional forecast facilities. Forecasterdeveloped products and gridded data

sets are distributed from HQ AFWA

via the Communications Front End

Processor to base and post weather stations using dedicated 9600-baud circuits. These dedicated circuits are now

augmented by, and will eventually be

replaced by commercial Ku-band

broadcast satellites over the CONUS,

Europe, and the Pacific. The broadcast

satellites now provide tailored satellite

and Next Generation Doppler Radar

imagery to the base and post weather

stations at both fixed and deployed

locations.

Alphanumeric data including synoptic, upper-air, and pilot reports are collected and distributed via the

Automated Weather Network (AWN).

The AWN is a collection of dedicated

circuits ranging from 74-baud to

56kbps linking DOD, national and

international facilities worldwide. Data

is also received from DOD-operated

High Frequency (HF) radio receiver

sites strategically positioned around

the globe to intercept weather broadcasts. These broadcasts originate from

nations that do not routinely make data

available through World Meteorological

Organization (WMO) channels. The

Automatic Digital Weather Switch at

Tinker AFB, Oklahoma receives

alphanumeric weather data and

Notices to Airman (NOTAMs), parses

them according to data type, eliminates

duplicate reports from different

sources, and creates specially tailored

bulletins. Some of these bulletins are

sent to the large processing centers to

provide the input data for global,

regional, and fine-scale forecast models. Other bulletins are re-distributed

to end users over (1) the same dedicated circuits, (2) the DOD's Non-secure

Internet Protocol Network (NIPRNET), and (3) HF and satellite broadcast facilities. End-user systems

include the Automated Meteorological

Information System (AMIS),

Meteorological Information Standard

Terminal (MIST) and small computers

using a variety of alphanumeric display packages.

Preparation of Analyses and

Forecasts. The primary center for providing weather analyses and forecasts

for Air Force and Army operations is

AFWA at Offutt AFB, Nebraska.

AFWA uses a networked computer

system and an interactive graphics and

imagery system to implement a "buildand-apply" concept. Worldwide

weather data are relayed to AFWA and

blended with civil and military meteorological satellite data to construct a

real-time, integrated environmental

database. Computer programs further

digest the data to construct models of

the atmosphere and to forecast its

future behavior. Manual tailoring of

the data is critical for application to the

specific needs of the warfighters. The

interaction between forecaster and

machine is accomplished with the

Satellite Data Handling System

(SDHS). SDHS consists of interactive

workstations capable of high-speed

interaction with satellite and conventional meteorological data to prepare

forecasts and other environmental

products. AFWA also provides backup

for the National Weather Service
SECTION 3 DOD 59

(NWS) Storm Prediction and Aviation

Weather Centers.

In support of DOD combat operations, Air Force Weather (AFW) operates centralized units consisting of

AFWA, AFCCC, 55 SWXS, fixed theater Forecast Units (FU), fixed

Weather Support Units (WSU), and

provides personnel to deployed Joint

Meteorological/Oceanographic

(METOC) Operations Centers

(JMOC). AFWA has reengineered

forecast operations to achieve greater

flexibility and focus production on its

primary customers. Forecasts are generated in the agency's Global Weather

Center Division, which consists of four

production branches: the Forecast

Production Branch, the Special

Support Operations Branch (SSOB)

which was formed through combining

the Special Operations Forces Weather

Operations Center (SOFWCC) and the

CINC Target Weather Forecast Cell

(CTWFC), the National Programs

Operations Branch (NPOB), and the

Satellite Applications Branch.

The Global Weather Center

Production Branch produces tailored

worldwide meteorological analyses

and forecasts in support of strategic

aviation customers. The branch provides specific point weather warnings

for Air Force and Army installations in

the CONUS; dedicated, worldwide,

broadcast-quality public weather services and planning forecast support

through the American Forces

Television Network to DOD personnel

and family members stationed overseas; and hot backup to Aviation

Weather Center and Storm Prediction

Center. The branch also provides forecasts of CONUS low-level aviation

hazards.

The Special Support Operations

Branch provides worldwide missiontailored forecasts to the Special

Operations Forces (SOF). The branch

acts as a clearinghouse for unique data

requests from the SOF customers; provides end-to-end targeting support to

unified command, component, or

national customers; produces longrange (4-10 day) forecasts to unified

command, component, or national customers; and supplies the Nation's

reconnaissance cloud-free forecast

products.

The National Programs Operations

Branch provides weather support for

classified National Programs directed

by the Secretary of the Air Force. The

branch identifies and documents

weather service requirements and initiates actions to ensure Sensitive

Compartmented Information (SCI) and

Special Access Program (SAP) weather supports needs are met. It serves as

focal point for AFWA SAPs; ensures

National Program and other SCI and

SAP support requirements are integrated into AFWA programs; monitors and

evaluates accuracy and timeliness of

centralized weather services to national programs; and interfaces with the

DOD and national intelligence community regarding weather services and

exploitation of weather information.

The Satellite Applications Branch provides rapid response tailored METSAT

imagery and evaluation for DOD contingency mission support. The branch

produces detailed global cloud analyses to update, and refine the Real Time

Figure 3-DOD-2. 48-hour Meteogram for Dyess AFB, Texas.
60 DOD SECTION 3

Nephanalysis (RTNEPH) database;

produces global snow and ice cover

analysis to update and refine the Snow

Depth (SNODEP) database; and generates automated METSAT imagery

products for AFWIN/SAFWIN distribution to DOD customers. The branch

also tracks and classifies tropical

cyclones (METSAT analysis) for DOD

Joint Typhoon Warning Center

(JTWC) and other United States

Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers;

provides hot back up for JTWC satellite operations; and monitors operational status, evaluates quality of

imagery ingested at AFWA. It coordinates corrective actions; maintains,

modifies, develops new capabilities to

display and visualize satellite imagery

data on workstations; infuses state-ofthe-art techniques into improved

imagery analysis ensuring high quality

customer products; serves as AFW

focal point on technical issues regarding METSAT imagery utilization; and

interfaces with the DMSP SPO,

AFSPC and other DOD and governmental agencies on METSAT data

exploitation issues.

Dissemination of Forecasts and

Warnings. The Air Force and Army

require worldwide meteorological

services for specific operational and

planning activities. Military users

require meteorological information

directed to the needs of weapon systems being developed or used, command and control systems, Army firing

units, research, development and evaluation, testing, training and deployment of military forces, and contingency operations.

Air Force Weather enhances the

unique global capability of military

aviation while indirectly assisting civil

aviation. Air Force personnel provide

flight weather briefings, air/ground

radio services, and tailored observations, forecasts, watches, and warnings

for military operations.

A special aspect of the military weather

mission is the need to provide decision

assistance to commanders and resource

managers. To fulfill this requirement,

designated AFW personnel serve as part

of the working staff of operational Air

Force, Army, and joint force units. In this

capacity, AFW personnel identify all

weather-sensitive areas of the operation,

monitor the weather service provided in

these areas, and provide expert advice to

mitigate weather impacts on training or

combat operations. This effort helps

ensure that Air Force, Army, and joint

force units fulfill their missions regardless of the weather and results in efficient

use of weather resources by gearing them

to mission needs.

Deployed weather teams are the

basic units providing weather support

in a combat theater. These teams provide surface and upper air observations, staff weather officer (SWO)

services, and forecasts. The tactical

forecast system, tactical weather radar,

tactical meteorological satellite direct

readout terminals, and tactical communications terminals provide the means

to acquire vital meteorological data

within a theater. A high frequency

radio broadcast (HFRB) system is used

to augment transmission of alphanumeric and facsimile products to the

theater weather force. The HFRB system consists of regional broadcast stations at Andersen AFB, Guam,

Elkhorn, Nebraska, and Roosevelt

Roads, Puerto Rico.

Specialized Support. AFCCC,

Asheville, North Carolina, provides

environmental data and specialized

studies to support the Air Force, Army,

and other government agencies.

Typical support satisfies requirements

for assessments of natural environmental effects on military plans, weapon

systems, facilities, and intelligence

activities. AFCCC collects environmental data from AFWA and then

sorts, checks, stores, and employs

these data to produce tailored products.

AFCCC is colocated with the National

Climatic Data Center to facilitate

cooperation and data exchange.

AFCCC typically collects, quality

assures, and applies worldwide surface

and upper air observations, a threedimensional (3D) cloud analysis

extracted from meteorological satellite

imagery (Real-time Nephanalysis), a

global analysis of snow cover, solar,

geomagnetic, and space observations

and indices, and many other specialized environmental data sets.

The Air Force also supports an array

of Air Force and Army specialized

requirements. Some of these are

described below:

The Army weather support mission is

completely integrated into the Air

Force's overall mission concept. The

Figure 3-DOD-3. AF Special Operations Weather Team.
SECTION 3 DOD 61

Army trains and educates Air Force

personnel about Army organizations,

concepts of operations, and the weather sensitivities of Army operations and

equipment. AFW units are aligned and

integrated with the Army intelligence

organization. Weather products are

tailored to be directly usable and

understandable by Army personnel and

are integrated into Army communications systems. Mobile and fixed meteorological equipment is programmed

by the Air Force. In a tactical environment, weather personnel serve with

echelon-above-corps, corps, divisions,

separate brigades, regiments, aviation

brigades, armored cavalry regiments,

ranger regiments, and special forces

groups (as well as subordinate battalions deployed at forward operating

bases). The Air Force provides

observer support to all command levels

identified above. The Army Forward

Area Limited Observing Program

(FALOP) and the Army artillery meteorology (ARTYMET) program augment the Air Force observations in the

tactical environment. 

The Air Force provides meteorological products to the Nation's space and

missile programs. This includes a

wide range of weather observing services at the Air Force Eastern Range and

the Kennedy Space Center. The Air

Force also provides launch-forecasting

service for NASA's manned and

unmanned launches and for commercial launches from the Kennedy Space

Center. The Air Force also provides

specialized meteorological services for

the Air Force Western Range at

Vandenberg AFB, California, and the

Pacific Missile Range which includes

Point Mugu and San Nicholas Island,

California, and Barking Sands,

Hawaii. In addition, the Air Force supports the White Sands Missile Range,

New Mexico, the Kwajalein Missile

Range, and other DOD research and

test facilities.

The Air Force and Navy operate the

Joint Typhoon Warning Center

(JTWC) which recently moved to

Hawaii. JTWC provides tropical

cyclone warning services to DOD units

and other United States subscribers in

the area west of 180 degrees longitude

to the East Coast of Africa in both

hemispheres.

The Air Force directly supports DOD

Special Strategic Programs, the

National Command Authority, the

National Military Command System,

and the National Security Agency.

Tailored environmental support products are disseminated to these customers worldwide.

The Air Force provides space environmental data, products, services, and

solar forecasts to a wide variety of customers through the 55 SWXS at

Schriever AFB, Colorado. An element

of the 55 SWXS is colocated with

NOAA's Space Environment Center in

Boulder, Colorado.

The Air Force also provides agrometeorological output to the USDA's

Foreign Agricultural Service and other

national customers. The output provided includes diagnostic soil hydrology and other meteorological output

pertinent to crop growth and yield estimation.

DOD Modeling and Simulation

Executive Agent (MSEA) for the Air

and Space Natural Environment

(ASNE). The Director of Air Force

Weather (AF/XOW) is the MSEA.

The director executes his responsibilities through the Office Chief collocated at the Air Force Combat

Climatology Center (AFCCC) in

Asheville, North Carolina. The

Executive Agent is responsible to

ensure modeling and simulation developers and users have authoritative

environmental models, algorithms, and

data to represent the air and space

environment rapidly, thoroughly, and

consistently in a manner that promotes

cost-effectiveness, ready access, interoperability, re-use, and confidence.

Air National Guard (ANG). There

are two distinct functions within the

ANG weather program. The traditional program consists of 33 weather

flights, ranging in size from 13 to 25

personnel. The flights meet monthly to

train for their wartime missions and

support both Army National Guard

(ARNG) and United States Army

Reserve (USAR) units as well as ANG

flying units. A Weather Readiness

Center operates at Camp Blanding in

Starke, Florida, to provide Army tactical skills training that is not available

elsewhere in the Air Force. The ANG

is also responsible for peacetime

weather operations at locations where

the ANG is responsible for airfield

operations.

Planned Enhancements. Air Force,

Army, and joint force operational

requirements for environmental support are the basis for all Air Force

actions to improve existing or acquire

new capabilities. The Air Force

assesses these requirements and

attempts to satisfy them through either

hardware acquisitions or technique

development. AFWA and the Naval

Meteorology and Oceanography

Command are working on initiatives to

improve environmental support to joint

and service operations. They focus on

the strengths of each of the services

and build on existing cooperative

efforts.

The Air Force is modernizing and

improving its strategic, operational,

and combat level systems.

Modernization programs include the

Operational Weather Squadron (OWS)

Production System, Phase 2 (OPS II),

and the New Tactical Forecast System

(N-TFS). N-TFS replaces the

Automated Weather Distribution

System (AWDS).

The OPS II system will serve as the

backbone of future centralized support

in AFW. This system provides the

computer hardware and software necessary for the AFW Strategic Centers

and OWSs to produce and disseminate

forecast products to Combat Weather

Teams (CWTs). Strategic Centers provide weather support at the global and

synoptic-scale levels for their worldwide customers. At the OWS, fore-
62 DOD SECTION 3

casters have a theater-level focus and

produce forecasts, weather warnings

and advisories, planning and execution

area forecasts and other operational

products. The CWTs then tailor these

centrally produced products for individual missions. The OPS-II is a

hybrid system of databases, servers,

and work stations. It serves as a clearing house of weather information

allowing the forecaster to access any of

the data and weather products in the

AFW "data cloud".

N-TFS provides in-garrison and

deployed personnel the meteorological

tools necessary to manipulate and disseminate graphical and alphanumeric

products (satellite imagery, graphical

forecast products, weather forecasts,

advisories, briefings, observations,

etc.) to Army and Air Force operational, command and control, and support forces worldwide. N-TFS provides weather personnel the ability to

use the same system in "peace and

war, thus providing a robust "first in"

and sustainment weather forecast capability to combat weather units worldwide. Additionally, N-TFS will ingest

data from Air Force observing systems

and observations from indigenous

sources.

Current and future weather observational systems include the Automated

Observing System (AOS) for in-garrison operations, as well as the Manual

Observing System (MOS). Other systems are the Tactical Meteorological

Observing System Modification

(TACMET MOD), the DMSP program's Small Tactical Terminal (STT),

and the Tactical Weather Radar (TWR)

in combat environments. These systems will provide deployed personnel

the accurate observational data necessary to support warfighting operations.

The WSR-88D procured through the

NEXRAD Joint System Program

Office continues to be modernized, in

concert with NOAA and FAA radars,

to improve reliability and maintainability and keep technology current. It

is operated and maintained by DOD,

NOAA, and FAA within the CONUS

and by the Air Force overseas. The

system incorporates the latest technological advances in Doppler radar, data

processing, communications, and display. The CONUS WSR-88D network

will satisfy weather radar requirements

in support of the general public, the

military, and the aviation community.

The Cloud Depiction and

Forecasting System (CDFS) II will

make major software and hardware

modifications at AFWA to upgrade the

weather satellite data processing, cloud

depiction and forecasting, and classified weather support functions to meet

customer-stated requirements.

The MARK IVB Direct Readout program has procured new satellite

receiver terminals to replace the aging

MARK IIIs. In addition to providing

high resolution satellite imagery from

polar and geosynchronous weather

satellites, the MARK IVB terminals

accept and use data from the DMSP

microwave imager and sounders and

the TIROS microwave sounding units

A and B. The MARK IVB produces

both uniform gridded data fields and

traditional meteorological products.

The Small Tactical Terminal (STT) is

a small, lightweight, ruggedized, modularized, interoperable, first-in satellite

receive terminal that receives data

transmitted by geostationary and polar

orbiting meteorological satellites.

There are three configurations of the

STT. The basic STTs receive low resolution DMSP and civil polar (TIROS,

METEOR, etc.) data as well as

WEFAX transmissions from geostationary satellites. The Enhanced STT

adds the capability to receive and display high resolution DMSP and TIROS

real-time broadcasts. Finally, the Joint

Task Force Satellite Terminal adds the

capability to receive high resolution,

geostationary data.

STTs are being fielded at the lowest

level of tactical weather operations

(i.e., support to USAF flying

squadrons and Army divisions).

Furthermore, all STTs can be networked through battlefield communication internets to create comprehensive satellite imagery distribution systems. Future developments in the STT

program build on these initial capabilities to further reduce the size and

weight of equipment and maximize use

of the communication links on the battlefield.

Recently, the concept of operations

for employing the STT has changed to

better meet the needs of the Air Force's

Expeditionary Aerospace Force concept. All STTs will be modified to

accept the high resolution geostationary signal. Several STTs will be fielded without direct readout antennas and

rely on battle-field common-user communications with other fully capable

STTs in theater. Additionally, efforts

are being made to retrieve real-time

polar orbiting METSAT data through

the STTs for use at AFWA.

SPACE ENVIRONMENTAL

SERVICES

55th Space Weather Squadron

(55 SWXS) is the Air Force focal point

for operational space environmental support. 55 SWXS also participates with

NOAAin the joint operation of the Space

Environment Center (SEC) in Boulder,

Colorado. Under existing agreements,

SEC and 55 SWXS provide limited

backup for each other during contingencies. Many DOD systems operate in, or

are affected by, conditions above 50 kilometers altitude. The space environment

includes the thermosphere, ionosphere,

and magnetosphere, as well as the regions

that influence them, such as the sun and

interplanetary space. 55 SWXS provides

basic and specialized space environmental support to military electromagnetic

communications, surveillance, and warning systems that operate in this environment. Space environment forecast products and/or specialized services are provided for the following:

 Ionospheric conditions.

 Energetic particle fluxes at satellite

orbits.
SECTION 3 DOD 63

 Solar flare, solar particle, and geomagnetic storm events.

 Upper-atmospheric density variations by providing geomagnetic

and solar indices. 

 High frequency (HF) radio wave

propagation.

 Detailed post-analysis studies of

operational system problems to

determine if the space environment was a contributing factor.

The effects of the space environment

on DOD systems are many and varied.

The magnetosphere affects satellite

operations through such phenomena as

single event upsets (SEU) and spacecraft charging. Manned spaceflights

are vulnerable to intense radiation

from large solar flares and geomagnetic storms, particularly for high inclination orbits. Ionospheric conditions

have a profound effect on the propagation of radio waves and radar signals,

leading to communications blackouts

and erroneous radar returns. Variations

in the neutral atmosphere affect satellites orbiting at relatively low altitudes.

Sources of Space Environmental

Data. To obtain solar data, the

55 SWXS operates a network of solar

optical and radio telescopes. Solar

Electro-Optical Network (SEON)

observatories are located at Sagamore

Hill, Massachusetts, Ramey, Puerto

Rico, Holloman AFB, New Mexico,

Palehua, Hawaii, San Vito, Italy, and

Learmonth, Australia. The 55 SWXS

also receives real-time solar X-ray and

energetic particle and geomagnetic

data from the Geostationary

Operational Environmental Satellites

(GOES); DMSP, NOAA, and other

DOD geostationary satellites provide

additional energetic particle data in

low-Earth and geosynchronous orbits.

The 55 SWXS and NOAA SEC also

exploit real-time solar wind data from

the NASA Advanced Composition

Explorer satellite currently one million

miles sunward of the earth at the L-1

Lagrangian point.

A world-wide (primarily Northern

Hemisphere) network of ionosondes

and polarimeters provides ionospheric

data. AFW has deployed the automated Digital Ionospheric Sounding

System (DISS) to replace older instruments and provide improved ionospheric coverage.

The 55 SWXS monitors variations of

the geomagnetic field using groundbased magnetometers through a cooperative agreement with the USGS,

computes a real-time geomagnetic

index, and transmits the derived index

to users. 

Warning and Forecast Services. In

near-real-time, 55 SWXS provides

operators advance warning of conditions that could degrade performance

of their systems. Notifications

include:

 Solar X-ray events which can disrupt HF communications on sunlit

paths.

 Solar radio bursts which can disrupt communications systems and

interfere with radar systems.

 Solar proton events which can produce radiation hazards to spacecraft and absorption of transpolar

HF radio waves.

 Ionospheric disturbances which

can degrade HF and satellite communications systems.

 Geomagnetic disturbances which

can affect the orbital parameters of

low altitude satellites, cause spacecraft charging and/or physical damage, disrupt HF radio wave propagation, or interfere with radar systems.

Future Improvements in 55 SWXS

Support. 55 SWXS is enhancing its

ability to observe the space environment, analyze data, and model the

near-Earth environment.

The Ionospheric Measuring System

(IMS) is a planned replacement for the

current polarimeter network. IMS,

using signals from Global Positioning

System (GPS) satellites, will measure

total electron content. The initial purchase and deployment of five IMS

units is in progress.

The SEON Solar Maximum

Modification will improve the capabilities of the SEON observatories.

Efforts continue to upgrade obsolete

and non-supportable equipment to

maintain current capability. 

A series of Solar X-Ray Imagers

(SXI) will be flown beginning on the

next GOES satellite launched. The

SXI will monitor solar emissions in the

extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray

portions of the solar spectrum. These

data will be downlinked to the SEC

and transmitted to 55 SWXS in realtime.

The Solar Wind Interplanetary

Measurements (SWIM) is an Air Force

Research Laboratory investigation

using data from NASA s WIND

research satellite launched on

1 November 1994. SWIM provides

two hours of real-time interplanetary

solar wind data to 55 SWXS each day.

Additionally, there will be two campaigns a year during which real-time

data will be provided 8 hours a day.

The expected life of SWIM/WIND is 5

to 7 years.

Solar Radio Burst Locator (SRBL).

This new ground-based system is projected to be operational in 1999.

SRBL radio mappings of active

regions on the solar disk will augment

the present optical observations of

these phenomena that are limited by

clouds and other atmospheric obscurants. Precise location of active

regions on the solar disk is crucial to

accurate forecasting of solar flare

impacts on the near-earth environment. Figure 3-DOD-4. Solar Image.
64 DOD SECTION 3

The Space Environmental

Technology Transition (SETT) program transitions state-of-the-art space

environmental models to operational

use at 55 SWXS. These models will

specify and forecast the space environment from the Sun to the Earth's upper

atmosphere. The output of these models will drive specific application programs tailored to customer needs. The

transition of the SETT models to the

55 SWXS will be complete by 1999.

Follow-on model development will

focus on improving model accuracy

and will replace surrogate parameters

(as model inputs) with direct measurements wherever possible.

 Magnetospheric Models. The

Magnetospheric Specification

Model (MSM) provides specification of magnetospheric particle

fluxes at geostationary altitudes

and precipitating particle fluxes in

the auroral zone. An upgrade to

this model, the Magnetospheric

Specification and Forecast Model,

will provide forecast capability

and increase the MSM coverage

area. One application of MSM

output will be as input for satellite

anomaly programs. The MSM

became operational at the

55 SWXS in FY 1995.

 Ionospheric Models. The

Parameterized Real-Time Ionospheric Specification Model specifies global electron density using

near-real-time satellite and

ground-based data. It became

operational in late FY 1996. A second ionospheric model, the

Ionospheric Forecast Model (IFM)

will be based on a model developed by Utah State University.

When completed, IFM will provide an ionospheric forecasting

capability; it is currently undergoing validation. Ionospheric model

output will be used as input for

space track radar correction and

HF radio wave propagation programs. Another variant of ionospheric models, the Wide-Band

Model, will provide estimates of

ionospheric scintillation severity

between two endpoints. The specification accuracy of this model

has recently been improved by the

inclusion of equatorial and high

latitude climatological data.

 The Interplanetary Shock Propagation Model is designed to predict

the time of arrival and the dynamic pressure pulse associated with

solar flares. This will provide a

13 day warning of geomagnetic

storms resulting from solar activity.

 The Integrated Space Environmental

Model is a coupling model and

executive system being developed

to integrate the SETT models into

a single system sharing input and

output data. It will provide a single framework to coordinate and

facilitate the execution of all SETT

models using scientific expertise

and decision-making ability within

the program, which will increase

consistency of the outputs, optimize run times, and decrease forecaster workload.

On 27 April 1999, AFSPC approved

a Strategic Plan for DOD Space

Weather Support. This plan reorganizes the space weather support structure

over the next few years. The end-state

configuration transfers operational

responsibility for the space weather

strategic center function to the AFWA

while AFSPC retains responsibility for

providing space weather support to

DOD space operations missions. This

consolidation of the space weather and

terrestrial weather strategic center

under AFWA at Offutt AFB, Nebraska

will enable AFWA to provide seamless

aerospace weather support to DOD

forces, reduce USAF infrastructure

costs, streamline customer support

process, and improve space weather

services.

SUPPORTING RESEARCH

The overarching objective of the Air

Force meteorological R&D program is

to provide system designers and operational weather support personnel with

the technology tools to gain and maintain the advantage over a potential

adversary. Documented R&D requirements in the atmospheric sciences are

articulated in the AFW Mission

Support Plan. More specific guidance

is found in Technical Needs, documented in the associated Weather

Development Plan.

With the recent restructuring of the

Air Force laboratory system into a single Air Force Research Laboratory, the

responsibility for conducting and managing environmental sciences R&D

(including meteorology and space

weather) resides with AFRL's

Battlespace Environment Division

located at Hanscom AFB,

Massachusetts. Its applied research

program in meteorology has been refocused and narrowed to emphasize

weather prediction methods, cloud

modeling and simulation, weather

impact decision aids and optical turbulence for airborne laser applications.

AFRL also conducts customer supported R&D for NPOESS, the Defense

Modeling and Simulation Office

(DMSO), the National Reconnaissance

Office (NRO), DOT and NASA.

Weather Prediction Methods. R&D

efforts in this area focus on the development of aviation-mission-impactvariable algorithms to be applied operationally at AFWA. Multivariate diagnostic algorithms, applicable to data

provided by global and theater-scale

numerical weather prediction models,

have been developed to infer cloud

characteristics (layered and total cloud

amount, bases, tops, ceiling), aviation

hazards (icing, turbulence, and thunderstorms) and surface conditions (present

weather and horizontal visibility). The

cloud, icing and turbulence algorithms

have been implemented at AFWA

where they are being evaluated operationally as part of the Global/Theater

Weather Analysis and Prediction

System (GTWAPS). The present

weather, thunderstorms and horizontal

visibility algorithms, transitioned to
SECTION 3 DOD 65

AFWA in early FY 1999, are awaiting

evaluation testing at AFWA.

Cloud Modeling and Simulation.

The Cloud Scene Simulation Model

(CSSM) has become the cornerstone

for in-house and DMSO-sponsored

developments to provide physically

and radio-metrically accurate cloud

simulations. They provide capabilities

needed in the Modeling and

Simulation (M&S) community for

consistent, physically-based synthetic

atmospheres to drive war-gaming,

training, system design studies, etc.

The AFRL focus this past year has

been in areas such as: (1) providing an

enhanced cirrus cloud model tuned to

aircraft-based cloud water content

measurements, (2) completing, in collaboration with the Army Research

Laboratory, a radiometric validation

study, (3) designing an extension of the

CSSM to support campaign-level simulations, and (4) transitioning a

cloud/NWP model data fusion

approach to the exploitation of

National Technical Means data.

CSSM has reached a point of maturity

where it is routinely used in war-gaming demonstrations and exercises (for

the Air Force and Navy) and in the

conduct of data impact/sensitivity

studies (such as was further done for

NPOESS).

Weather Impact Decision Aids. A

major focus of the Air Force's investment in meteorology R&D deals with

the development, evaluation, and

implementation of weather impact

decision aids (WIDA) which predict

the impact of weather and other environmental factors on the performance

of electro-optical (IR, NVG, laser, TV)

systems. WIDA products can be used

to support mission sensors used in

weapon, night-vision, and navigation

systems. Four of the five products currently in development will provide

unit-level weather impact support for

mission execution. The fifth, called

Weather Automated Mission Planning

Software (WAMPS), incorporates

WIDA products described below into

AF command and control systems

from the force to the unit-level. The

mission execution products are:

(1) Infrared (IR) Target-scene

Simulation Software (IRTSS),

(2) EOTDA extension to cover MWIR

(3-5μ) wavelengths in addition to

LWIR (8-12μ) systems, (3) Night

Vision Goggle (NVG) Operations

Weather Software (NOWS), and

(4) Target Acquisition Weather

Software (TAWS). Collectively, they

provide tactical aircraft pilots with

scene simulation capabilities to plan

EO system missions. They combine

global terrain and features, target structure, target IR contrast, EO sensor performance models, data, and meteorological and operational planning data

to provide commanders and aircrews

complete in-theater visualization tools

for environmental situational awareness. Unique Navy and Army requirements continue to be incorporated into

these developments.

Atmospheric Optical Turbulence.

EO and laser systems are adversely

affected by optical distortions induced

by atmospheric turbulence. As the

sophistication grows in current and

next generation military systems, the

requirement for more detailed knowledge of the fine scale (meter or less)

atmospheric structure also grows. The

Airborne Laser (ABL) program is one

such system. Since the meteorological

conditions that produce turbulence

vary, the performance of such systems

vary. The Air Force program in atmospheric optical turbulence measurements and modeling seeks to address

these needs. The measurements are

performed by a balloon-borne turbulence sensor that is mated to a standard

radiosonde. It has been used in this

program since the 1980's. It has produced data and empirical models that

are in widespread use and are the basis

for ABL system specification.

Empirical seasonal models have been

developed for the theaters. This year,

as part of an international cooperation,

aircraft measurements of optical and

wind turbulence were made in

Figure 3-DOD-5. Artists rendering of Airborne Laser.
66 DOD SECTION 3

Australia and Japan. The horizontal

measurements by the aircraft augment

the vertical profiling by balloons.

These data are being used to develop

models of vertical and horizontal structure of turbulence in the troposphere

and stratosphere, models with dependencies on the meteorological sources

of turbulence such as jet streams,

fronts, mountains, or thunderstorms.

The modeling is closely coupled with

work on the generation, propagation,

and breakdown of gravity waves. The

objective of the program is to develop

models that allow the forecasting and

prediction of system performance.

United States Air Force Reserve

Command

The United States Air Force Reserve

Command's (AFRC) 53rd Weather

Reconnaissance Squadron (53 WRS)

supports the reconnaissance requirements of several NOAA programs.

The 53 WRS was established in 1943

as an Air Force weather reconnaissance squadron and remained an

active-duty unit until 1990 when the

unit was deactivated. In 1993, the

53 WRS name was reestablished when

the Air Force Reserve 815th WRS was

redesignated the 53rd Weather

Reconnaissance Squadron, United

States Air Force Reserve. 

The 53 WRS maintains a fleet of 10

specially instrumented WC-130H aircraft at Keesler AFB, near Biloxi,

Mississippi. They provide hurricane

and winter storm data to the NHC and

NCEP. The aircraft provide high-density flight-level data and dropwindsonde messages in near real-time. The

53 WRS has primary responsibility for

operational reconnaissance of tropical

cyclones and hurricanes in the Atlantic

Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Eastern

Pacific Ocean. Aircraft from NOAA's

Aircraft Operations Center augment

the 53 WRS during particularly active

storm periods and for reconnaissance

in foreign airspace. The 53 WRS also

provides the NCEP with reconnaissance of winter storms affecting the

East and West Coasts of the United

States. On a limited basis, the unit

also supports federal and civilian

weather research projects.

Figure 3-DOD-6. Patch of the

53 WRS Hurricane Hunters.
SECTION 3 DOD 67

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The United States Navy has the

unique military requirement to assess

meteorological and oceanographic

(METOC) impacts on naval, joint, and

combined operations--anywhere in the

world, at any time. METOC support

begins by measuring the battlespace

physical environment and culminates

with safe, effective weapons systems

and sensor employment. The focus is

predominantly on regions outside of

the continental United States.

Developing METOC forecasts and

determining potential effects on

weapons system information requires:

 the collection of data through tactical and dedicated sensors (including satellites); 

 fusion and analysis of atmospheric

and oceanographic phenomena;

and 

 meteorological information in tactical decision aids and mission planning systems. 

Naval METOC must support worldwide naval, joint, and combined operations anytime and anywhere. The focus

is predominantly on areas outside of

the contiguous 48 states. 

The Chief of Naval Operations,

through the Oceanographer of the

Navy (CNO(N096)), sponsors operational Navy METOC services and

related research and development

(R&D). The Navy provides meteorological services for Navy and joint

forces, meteorological products to the

USMC, and oceanographic support to

all elements of DOD. The

Oceanographer of the Navy sponsors

programs in four closely related disciplines to provide worldwide, comprehensive, integrated weather and ocean

support - meteorology, oceanography,

geospatial information and services,

and precise time and astrometry. All

are used to protect ships, aircraft, fighting forces, and shore establishments

from adverse ocean and weather conditions, and to provide a decisive tactical

or strategic edge by exploiting the

physical environment (Figure 3DOD7).

Research and development is conducted by warfare centers, laboratories, and systems commands, through

sponsorship by the Chief of Naval

Research and the Oceanographer of the

Navy. The Naval Research Laboratory

(NRL) and the Space and Naval

Warfare Systems Command

(SPAWARSYSCOM) are the primary

activities, in addition to various universities, industry partners, and organizations under Navy contract. NRL

detachments are collocated with the

Fleet Numerical Meteorology and

Oceanography Center in Monterey,

California and with the Naval

Oceanographic Office at Stennis Space

Center, Mississippi. The

SPAWARSYSCOM METOC Systems

Program Office (PMW-185) is Navy's

single program manager for METOC

system development and acquisition.

METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES

UNITED STATES NAVY

Operational support within the Navy

is provided by elements of the Naval

Meteorology and Oceanography

Command (NAVMETOCCOM).

Navy METOC activities are involved

in worldwide collection of observations ashore, afloat and through remote

sensors, and in the assimilation and

processing of these observations on a

global basis to support analysis and

forecasting throughout the world.

The Fleet Numerical Meteorology

and Oceanography Center (FLENUMMETOCCEN), in Monterey,

California, provides global forecasts

and analyses. Environmental data is

acquired through links with DOD and

NOAA conventional and remotely

sensed data distribution systems. By

agreement between Navy and Air

Force, FLENUMMETOCCEN is the

primary DOD global prediction center,

running the Navy Operational Global

Atmospheric Prediction System

(NOGAPS), developed by the Naval

Research Laboratory Detachment, also

in Monterey. 

NOGAPS provides global atmospheric predictions through twice-daily

operations runs. However, in nearshore regions, the small-scale interactions between the atmosphere, underlying ocean, and nearby land make it

UNITED STATES NAVY

Figure 3-DOD-7. Navy METOC operations encompasses the complex interactions between the atmosphere and oceans.
68 DOD SECTION 3

necessary to analyze and predict the

battlespace environment at higher resolution. In addition to the global product suite, FLENUMMETOCCEN is

uniquely capable of providing high

resolution, METOC products on short

notice for any location in support of

global contingency military and

humanitarian operations. Navy's

Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale

Prediction System (COAMPS) is an

operational model featuring nested,

non-hydrostatic physics, explicit moisture physics, aerosols, and improved

data assimilation. Using NOGAPS lateral boundary conditions, COAMPS

provides a high-resolution, re-locatable, meteorological and oceanographic prediction capability to support joint

littoral operations. COAMPS is routinely run for Europe, Southwest Asia,

Korea, Central America, Western

Atlantic, and the Eastern Pacific.

NOGAPS and COAMPS forecast

products are distributed via various

communications systems either directly to Fleet customers or through the

Navy regional METOC centers. The

regional METOC centers develop

value-added products and services tailored to specific operational requirements. Over the next two years, COMNAVMETOCCOM will install computer systems at the regional centers to

run COAMPS in theater, allowing

them to respond to Fleet commanders'

requirements in near real-time. As a

complement to numerical forecast

products, FLENUMMETOCCEN provides atmospheric and oceanographic

observations, data extracts, and data

for tactical decision aids. Additionally,

FLENUMMETOCCEN is the designated National Center of Excellence

for remotely sensed microwave products under the Air Force/Navy/NOAA

Shared Satellite Processing

Agreement. The FLENUMMETOCCEN web site is www.fnmoc.navy.mil.

Since atmospheric conditions are

inherently coupled to oceanographic

conditions, the Navy's program in

meteorology is closely linked with

oceanography and is the focus of the

Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO), Stennis Space Center,

Mississippi. NAVOCEANO's primary

responsibilities include the collection,

processing, and distribution of oceanographic, hydrographic, and other geophysical data and products. NAVOCEANO is the Navy's primary processing facility for NOAA polar-orbiting satellite data and is the National

Center of Excellence for satellitederived sea-surface temperature (SST)

measurements providing the global

SST data critically important to successfully running NOGAPS and

COAMPS. Additionally, NAVOCEANO is a DOD Major Shared

Resource Center, enabling creation of

the latest R&D models on the most

modern scalable supercomputing

architecture and facilitating transition

from R&D to operational use. The

NAVOCEANO web site is www.navoceano.navy.mil.

Tailored Theater and Regional Support

Theater and regional support are provided to forces both ashore and afloat

through six regional METOC services

within their broad areas of responsibility (AORs). Aligned with specific

Naval Component Commanders of the

Unified Commanders-in-Chiefs (CINCs),

these centers tailor services to theater

requirements, and manage and prioritize dissemination of numerical products from FLENUMMETOCCEN and

NAVOCEANO (Figure 3-DOD-8).

Special products needed to meet

requirements of the Joint Force

Commanders are also generated by the

regional centers. Additionally, the

Joint Typhoon Warning Center

(JTWC) (operated by the Navy and Air

Force) is co-located with the Naval

Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography

Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Tailored ice forecasts and analyses

are provided to DOD by the Naval Ice

Center (NAVICECEN), located in

Suitland, Maryland. The Navy

(through NAVICECEN), NOAA, and

the United States Coast Guard, jointly

operate the National Ice Center (NIC).

The NIC provides ice analyses and

forecasts for the Arctic and Antarctic

regions, coastal United States waters,

and the Great Lakes to civil as well as

military activities.

Local and Aviation Support

NAVMETOCCOM facilities at

Whidbey Island, Washington, and at

Figure 3-DOD-8. Navy METOC structure--forward deployed.
SECTION 3 DOD 69

Jacksonville and Pensacola, Florida,

provide aviation forecaster services as

well as Fleet Operating Area

(OPAREA) and local forecast and

warnings for aircraft, ships, submarines, and naval bases and staffs.

Additionally, there are 33 NAVMETOCCOM detachments worldwide.

Though primarily situated at Naval Air

Stations for aviation safety of flight

forecasting, several are located at

Naval Stations in support of sea-going

units. The detachments provide

METOC forecasting and warning services to DOD and allied units within

their local and functional areas of

responsibility. Detachments and facilities within the continental United

States use numerical products from

both FLENUMMETOCCEN and

NOAA's National Centers for

Environmental Prediction (NCEP).

Overseas detachments and facilities

use FLENUMMETOCCEN numerical

products, in addition to USAF and foreign products.

Two detachments provide specific

technical services. The detachment, at

the National Climatic Data Center,

Asheville, North Carolina, coordinates

the Navy's climatological program as

part of the Federal Climate Complex.

The detachment, at Tinker AFB,

Oklahoma, manages Naval data

requirements for the USAF Automated

Weather Network (AWN).

On-Scene Support

The Navy's permanent afloat

METOC assets are their OA Divisions,

embarked aboard aircraft carriers,

major amphibious ships, and command

ships. The OA division's primary

objectives are safety of ships and aircraft, optimum tactical support to

embarked warfare commanders, and

tailored on-scene products and services

for the assigned task force/group and

Allied units in joint, combined, or

coalition military and humanitarian

operations.

The primary sources of on-scene

Navy METOC support for other forces

afloat and those deployed ashore are

deployable Mobile Environmental

Teams (METs). These teams provide

short-term, on-scene services to DOD

activities without organic METOC

personnel, other government agencies,

and elements of the armed forces of

allied nations during combined exercises or operations. METOC products

and services provided by these teams

are tailored to each units' requirements

and include tactical METOC information and forecasts for operations,

weapon and sensor system employment and tactical decision making, and

climatological information for longrange planning.

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

(USMC)

Marine environmental forecasts are

vital to the operation of the USMC.

The Deputy Chief of Staff for Aviation,

Headquarters, United States Marine

Corps (Code ASL-44) is the cognizant

office for Marine Corps meteorological and oceanographic support and

requirements. The Marine Corps

weather organization consists of two

operational chains of command, one

for garrison aviation weather units and

the other for the Fleet Marine Force

(FMF).

Garrison aviation weather units at

Marine Corps air stations and facilities

are manned by USMC personnel and

provide direct aviation weather support

to host and tenant units

(Figure 3DOD10). Integral to

Marine Corps aviation activities, these

weather units provide services to

assigned activities and organizations,

which include nine major air stations

in the continental United States, one in

Hawaii, and two in Japan.

Marine Corps METOC support

activities are assigned to the FMF in

the Aviation Combat Element (ACE)

of the Marine Air Ground Task Force

(MAGTF). ACE METOC support is

derived from the Marine Wing Support

Squadron (MWSS) within the parent

Marine Aircraft Wing. The existing

10 MWSS METOC activities are

equipped to provide support at a barebased or expeditionary airfield by

deploying the Meteorological Mobile

Facility (METMF). Additionally,

Meteorological Support Teams (MSTs)

from the ACE MWSSs can be assigned

in direct support of the Command

Element, Ground Combat Element,

and Combat Service Support Element

of the MAGTF.

MAJOR METOC SYSTEMS

The capability to provide near realtime global, regional, and local

METOC services to the Navy and

Marine Corps team requires a robust

and evolving set of leading edge technology tools. These tools are embodied in the following systems:

Primary Oceanographic Prediction

System (POPS). The POPS program

was initiated to provide the computational capability necessary to run massive oceanographic and atmospheric

models at global, theater, and tactical

scales. Cray C-90s at FLENUMMETOCCEN and NAVOCEANO were

Figure 3-DOD-9. Naval METOC supports air, surface, and subsurface

operations.

Figure 3-DOD-10. Harrier Jump-jet--

successful Naval operations rely on

accurate environmental forecasts.
70 DOD SECTION 3

installed as part of the Navy's and federal government's emphasis on high

performance computing. POPS at

NAVOCEANO is a DOD Major

Shared Resource Center with as much

as 85 percent of the computer time on

the C-90 devoted to supporting DOD

R&D efforts which can transition to

operational use. FLENUMMETOCCEN uses POPS as the numerical

engine in its role as the primary DOD

Numerical Weather Prediction Center.

Tactical Environmental Support

System (TESS). The Navy is presently undergoing migration towards a

modular, interoperable suite of systems

to ingest, process, fuse, display, and

disseminate METOC data. The program consists of five seamless versions

known as the Naval Integrated Tactical

Environmental Subsystem (NITES)

versions I-V. NITES systems will be

fielded in FY 2000 through FY 2004.

The five NITES versions are:

 NITES I. Provides Navy decisionmakers on major combatant ships

with METOC assessments and

forecasts, and integrates data with

sensor and weapon platform

parameters for system performance assessments. Theater

METOC centers use NITES I to

provide value-added products to

fleet units, and the numerical prediction guidance generated by

FLENUMMETOCCEN.

 NITES II. Makes METOC data

and products available to Navy

and Marine Corps activities afloat

and ashore via the Global

Command and Control SystemMaritime (GCCS-M). TESS data

and products are used to feed tactical decision aids resident within

GCCS-M. NITES II is the basis

for the Joint METOC Segment of

the new Global Command and

Control System (GCCS) V3.0.

 NITES III. An unclassified forecast, briefing, and display system

tailored to Naval METOC shore

activities in support of aviation

operations.

 NITES IV. A portable system tailored to MET METOC requirements. Fielding of NITES IV is

expected to commence in

FY 2004.

 NITES V. A forecast, briefing, and

display system for foreign military

sales to ensure interoperability

with our allies. It is a follow-on to

the Allied Environmental Support

System (AESS) and will incorporate capabilities used in the other

NITES variants.

Meteorological Data ReceiverRecorder (AN/SMQ-11). The principal Navy system to acquire environmental data directly from satellites.

There are different equipment configurations for ships and shore sites;

through their interface with TESS variants, they provide remotely sensed

information to the operator.

Automated Surface Observing

System (ASOS). ASOS supports aviation and local area observing requirements at Navy and Marine Corps stations worldwide, leveraging development efforts of the National Weather

Service (NWS). ASOS assists meteorological technicians assimilate field

meteorological parameters and facilitates efficient entry of surface aviation

observations and synoptic weather

reports into the Automated Weather

Network (AWN).

Supplemental Weather Radars. The

Navy has procured supplemental

weather radars to provide Doppler

weather radar coverage at selected

Navy and USMC sites, mostly overseas, outside of NEXRAD coverage.

This system replaced the obsolete

AN/FPS-106 weather radars.

Meteorological Mobile Facility

Replacement (METMF(R)). The

METMF(R) is a transportable system

that houses meteorological support

equipment for the Marine Air Ground

Task Force (MAGTF). This 8 x 8 x 20

foot van provides a fully functioning

weather office designed to support for

Marine Corps expeditionary airfield

operations for 30 days without resupply. It includes sub-systems for data

collection (local, remote and upper air

sensors), data processing, satellite data

ingest and display, Doppler radar, communications, briefing support, and support for remote forces. The

METMF(R) is interoperable with the

Marine Corps C4I systems and

METOC systems of the other services

via the Global Command and Control

System (GCCS).

Operational Products and Services

Optimum Track Ship Routing

(OTSR), and Optimum Path Aircraft

Routing System (OPARS) are advisory

services for fleet units. They are based

on NOGAPS and COAMPS data, tailored to the customer, and provide

guidance to the forecaster for the safe

operation and cost-effective routing of

DOD ships and aircraft, as they have

for nearly 30 years. OTSR and

OPARS save the warfighter approximately $57M per year in reduced fuel

consumption.

The Navy Oceanographic Data

Distribution System (NODDS) is a

PC-based software package developed

in 1982 to make FLENUMMETOCCEN numerical products available to

front line DOD users. All standard

meteorological and oceanographic

fields, synoptic observations, and basic

DMSP satellite imagery is also available. NODDS is available to nonDOD federal agencies and others in the

civilian community through an agreement between Navy and NOAA.

The Joint METOC Viewer (JMV) is

a new capability that is integrated into

NITES and will eventually replace

NODDS. Building on the availability

of the Internet and the successful user

interface of NODDS, JMV provides an

intuitive Graphical User Interface for

retrieving, viewing, and annotating

METOC information. Authorized

DOD and government users with

Internet access now have a simple,

cost-efficient way to display weather

and ocean information on various computer platforms and operating systems.

JMV is operational at several hundred
SECTION 3 DOD 71

DOD sites, including ships.

Since 1983, the Naval Regional

Meteorology and Oceanography

Center, in Norfolk, Virginia has provided long-range forecasts in support

of Energy Conservation efforts at

Naval shore installations in the continental United States. The services are

primarily in the form of extendedrange (10-day) temperature forecasts

provided to energy managers to assist

in optimizing power plant operations.

Monthly temperature/degree day outlooks and long-lead (12 month) seasonal and precipitation forecasts are

also issued to assist in strategic planning of fuel purchasing and resource

allocation. Documented savings from

the Energy Conservation Forecast

Program exceed $62 million, with the

majority of savings resulting from

power plant steam/air conditioning

on/off recommendations and energy

resource/fuel allocations based on

long-lead forecast products. Customers

include 128 Navy and Marine Corps

facilities and commands.

SUPPORTING RESEARCH

The Navy administers a diverse

R&D program, ranging from software

development to sensor engineering,

and processing, display, and distribution devices. Application of R&D

activities of other services and federal

agencies is always considered, and use

of existing government and commercial off-the-shelf items is emphasized.

The Navy is a world leader in the

field of numerical weather prediction

for marine environmental services.

Transitioning fundamental scientific

research, through additional development, into operational meteorological

and oceanographic models is key to a

successful numerical prediction program. This on-going process includes

work at universities and the Naval

Research Laboratory's Marine

Meteorological Division to keep the

NOGAPS and COAMPS at the leading

edge of technology. Development is

also underway to improve data assimilation, quality control, and management techniques to support these models. A major numerical weather prediction thrust is underway to develop a

shipboard tactical atmospheric forecast

capability to assimilate locally

acquired data in real-time and deliver

high resolution (5 km), limited area

(100s of km), short range (12-24 hr)

atmospheric predictions in tactical

timeframes.

The Navy R&D program in remote

sensing develops techniques to extract

tactically significant information in the

littoral regions of the world. Sensors

aboard existing satellites are exploited

to the greatest extent possible and

plans are in place to incorporate new

capabilities when introduced. Because

many satellite processing algorithms

are designed for use with tactical systems, expert or rule-based processes

are used where possible to reduce

human-intensive interpretation.

ONR and SPAWARSYSCOM continue to explore techniques for assimilating environmental data through nontraditional sensors. One such effort is

investigating the AEGIS Weapon

Systems AN/SPY-1 radar and developing the ability to produce

NEXRAD-like radar information from

ships at sea.

Interagency Cooperation

Navy and Air Force have been cooperating in DOD weather support for

many years and these efforts have led

to successes, such as the DMSP and

JTWC. Recently, the two service have

reinvigorated efforts to increase efficiencies in their METOC programs

through greater cooperation. The

NAVAF-21 Charter, signed in June

1999 by the Oceanographer of the

Navy and the Air Force Director of

Weather, expands on the 1992 NAVAF

Agreement for long-term cooperation

in DOD operational METOC efforts.

NAVAF-21 implements mechanisms to

formalize information exchange and

cooperation, focus limited resources,

and prioritize issues to most efficiently

meet long-term DOD METOC requirements, and establish an enduring

methodology for documenting and

periodically reviewing decisions on

areas of mutual interest. 

To maximize efficiency and benefit

for Navy and NOAA cooperative

activities, an Umbrella Memorandum

of Agreement (MOA) was signed in

1993. Both agencies continue to identify new areas of cooperation and

review existing agreements for conversion into annexes to this MOA.

Specific areas include:

 Cooperative efforts in operational

numerical modeling, data exchange,

and mutual backup between

FLENUMMETOCCEN and the

NCEP.

 Navy/NOAA/Coast Guard operation

of the National Ice Center

(Figure 3DOD11).

 Air Force Weather Agency

(AFWA)/Navy/NOAA agreement

on shared processing of satellite data.

 Navy/NOAA agreement on ASOS

procurement and installation.

 Satellite altimetry data processing.

Figure 3-DOD-11. The National Ice

Center produces tailored ice analysis

and forecasts.

Figure 3-DOD-12. Weather conditions over the ocean can change rapidly and affect NAVAL operations 

significantly.
72 DOD SECTION 3

 Training cooperation through

Cooperative Program for

Operational Meteorology Education

and Training (COMET).

MOAs also exist between the

Department of Commerce, Department

of Transportation, and the Department

of Defense concerning procurement

and operation of NEXRAD.

Additionally, Navy is a DOD participant in the development of the

DOC/DOD/NASA converged National

Polar-orbiting Operational

Environmental Satellite System

(NPOESS).

Natural Disaster Mitigation

Navy METOC plays a vital role in

reducing the impact of natural disasters

to units both ashore and afloat. Severe

weather warnings are issued at Naval

facilities by the local NAVMETOCCOM activity when conditions warrant. For ships operating at sea without

METOC personnel embarked, tailored

enroute weather forecast messages

(WEAX) and high winds and seas

warnings provide commanding officers with advance notice of heavy

weather; Optimum Track Ship Routing

(OTSR) forecasters monitor ship

movements and provide heavy weather

avoidance recommendations.

Tropical cyclones and even severe

winter storms provide even greater

challenges, as ships cannot generally

"ride out" storms in-port without sustaining damage. Similarly, once they

get underway (or "sortie"), ships must

steer well-clear of the highest winds

and seas to avoid personnel injuries

and damage and ensure their stability

limits are not exceeded. Even storms

of little consequence to the general

public - those that remain well out at

sea - are still of great concern to the

Navy. Because of the need to sortie

ahead of tropical cyclones, the Navy

must make decisions 3- to 5-days in

advance of potentially dangerous

weather. Sortie decisions are extraordinarily difficult to make because of

their high cost and impact on personnel

and operations. In making these decisions, Fleet commanders must strike a

balance between the risk of staying inport versus the cost and potential for

damage at sea. 

Forecasts are provided to the fleet

commanders and their staffs by the

nearest NAVMETOCCOM activity.

Within CONUS, the forecasts are

closely coordinated with the NWS.

Overseas, local warnings and forecasts

are based on guidance provided by the

JTWC.

Figure 3-DOD-13. JTWC forecasts

tropical cyclones in the Pacific and

Indian Oceans.
SECTION 3 DOD 73

ARMY OPERATIONAL SUPPORT

Overview of Operational Equipment

and Support Missions

United States Army weather support

is a mix of Army and Air Force (AF)

personnel and equipment under Law

and according to Army-Air Force

agreement. Army Regulation (AR)

115-10/Air Force Joint Instruction (AFJI)

15-157, Weather Support for the United

States Army, 30 June 1996 describes

the Service responsibilities and those

of Major Army Commands

(MACOMs) within the Army providing weather support. The United

States Army provides direct weather

support to two Army missions: upper

air observations for field artillery fire

support, and limited surface weather

observations to support Army weapon

systems forward of division tactical

operations centers (Figure 3-DOD-14).

AF Major Commands (MAJCOMs)

provide operational weather services to

warfighting MACOMs in combat, contingencies, and peacetime training.

United States Army Forces Command

(FORSCOM), United States Army

Europe (USAREUR), United States

Army Pacific (USARPAC), United

States Army, South (USARSO),

United States Army Special Operations

Command (USASOC), Eighth United

States Army (EUSA), and United

States Army Training and Doctrine

Command (TRADOC) have AF

Weather personnel providing daily

installation and tactical weather support. Army Artillery Meteorological

(ARTYMET) crews provide direct

upper air observation support to

artillery units in the same MACOMs.

During peacetime, training and activation the Air National Guard (ANG)

provides AF operational weather support to the Army Reserve and Army

National Guard (ARNG), collectively

designated the reserve component

(RC). In addition, during exercises

and contingencies, the ANG may augment the active Army Weather Teams

(WETMs). The ANG acts like an AF

MAJCOM in providing support to the

Army RC.

UNITED STATES ARMY

Figure 3-DOD-14. Army Weather Support Architecture.
74 DOD SECTION 3

The Army also provides the operational weather support to Army

Research Development, Test and

Evaluation (RDTE) ranges, centers,

and other research facilities using the

Test and Evaluation Command

(TECOM) Meteorological Teams

(MET Teams) and United States Army

Space and Missile Defense Command

(SMDC) contractors. TECOM operational support is described under Army

Materiel Command in the RDTE section. SMDC provides weather support

to Kwajalein Missile Range (KMR)

through a Meteorological Environmental Test Support contractor.

The Army provides the tactical field

and communications equipment to AF

WETMs for tactical operations. The

Integrated Meteorological System

(IMETS) is an automated mobile

weather support and communications

system. The Project Director (PD) for

IMETS is under the direction of

Program Manager, Intelligence Fusion.

The Communications and Electronics

Command (CECOM) and Army

Research Laboratory (ARL) provide

fielding and technical support to PD,

IMETS and to field artillery meteorology programs. Previously issued

Block I IMETS have been upgraded to

ensure Y2K compliance. Block II

IMETS currently being issued are Y2K

compliant. IMETS fielding continues

in FY 2000.

ARTYMET crews are assigned to

artillery units at division level, to field

artillery brigades, and to separate

brigades with a direct support artillery

battalion. Army soldiers regularly take

tactical upper air observations to support field artillery units during tactical

training exercises, at permanent Army

artillery ranges, or during the full range

of combat missions. ARTYMET

crews also take limited surface observations at tactical locations on an "as

needed" basis to support artillery operational requirements.

ARTYMET crews in the active component (AC) and some RC sections

currently use the Meteorological

Measuring Set (MMS), AN/TMQ-41,

to take upper air observations during

tactical operations (Figure 3-DOD-15)

. It is a mobile, upper air sounding system mounted on a High Mobility

Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle

(HMMWV). The MMS provides

upper air data to the field artillery tactical data system for use in adjusting

artillery fire, to AF WETMs, and to the

chemical officer for use in smoke and

in nuclear, biological and chemical

(NBC) defense operations. (The

CECOM section provides a complete

description of MMS). The

Meteorological Data System (MDS),

AN/TMQ-31, replaced by the MMS,

has been reissued to the Army National

Guard (ARNG) and will be used as

long as still supportable. The rest of

the ARNG units will be upgraded to

the MMS and future Profiler systems,

as they become available. The United

States Army Field Artillery School

(USAFAS), Fort Sill, Oklahoma,

develops the requirement documents

and is the combat and training developer for meteorological equipment

used for field artillery support.

The Army provides supplemental,

limited surface observations when

required in tactical situations to support Army operations. When directed

by the Intelligence Officer (S2),

Intelligence personnel in the forward

combat areas take these observations.

Headquarters, Department of the

Army, Office of the Deputy Chief of

Staff for Intelligence (ODCSINT) is

responsible for Army weather support

policy. The Office of the Deputy Chief

of Staff for Operations and Plans

(ODCSOPS) is responsible for validating and prioritizing weather support

requirements and programs to meet

Army requirements. The Army Staff

also has a full-time active duty User

Liaison assigned to the National PolarOrbiting Operational Environmental

Satellite System (NPOESS) Integrated

Program Office.

Army Operational Support provided

by the Air Force

Under AR 115-10/AFJI 15-157, the

AF is responsible for providing the

Army with the necessary manpower

and unique tactical and fixed weather

equipment to meet Army tactical and

garrison AC/RC support requirements.

Army support manpower requirements Figure 3-DOD-15. AN/TMQ/41 MMS.
SECTION 3 DOD 75

are sourced from AF active, reserve,

and ANG weather units. While direct

support of the field artillery remains an

Army responsibility and is supported

by Army ARTYMET teams, AF

WETMs provide supplemental information to artillery crews in contingencies for areas beyond direct

ARTYMET observation capabilities.

The AF assigns AF weather personnel

to the warfighting MACOMs at theater, corps, division, armored cavalry

regiments, aviation brigades, separate

brigades, and special forces

groups/ranger regiments to provide

direct, on site weather support. AF

weather squadrons and flights provide

garrison and tactical weather warning,

observing, forecasting, special support,

and SWO services to combat, combat

support, and combat service support

units throughout the peacetime/war

continuum. Peacetime garrison activities include supporting flying operations at Army airfields and severe

weather watch, warning, and advisory

services for aircraft and post resource

protection. The AF is responsible for

installation, operation, and maintenance of standard AF meteorological

and observing equipment at Army airfield weather stations. Tactically, the

Army is responsible for vehicles, tactical communications, and weather

effects criteria. The Army IMETS is

fielded for these purposes and is operated by AF WETMs. The Army also

maintains IMETS hardware and software, with the AF maintaining AF software that performs meteorological

functions within IMETS. IMETS uses

AF meteorological software, but

IMETS is built on an Army vehicle,

uses Army tactical communications

and Army weather effects software.

The Army provides other tactical

equipment to AF WETMs through an

Army Table of Organizations and

Equipment (TOE).

United States Army Space and Missile

Defense Command (USASMDC)

Army Space Command (ARSPACE),

a subcommand of USASMDC, provided Army Space Support Teams

(ARSST) to deploying Army units.

One element of this support has been a

high-resolution weather satellite

receiver, which can be readily transported, and directly acquires and

processes the full telemetry stream of

civilian and military weather satellites.

Imagery and data are used by the SWO

in preparation of tailored products and

forecasts for use on the battlefield.

This equipment is used in contingencies and training exercises, and provides an interim capability pending

delivery of IMETS, Block II and associated AF weather satellite equipment. 

The Army Space Command's

ARSST stood down their weather

capability in FY 1998. The ARSST

weather satellite receiver assets will

transfer to the SMDBL in FY 1999.

The High Energy Laser Systems Test

Facility (HELSTF), a subcommand of

USASMDC, located on White Sands

Missile Range, is designated as the

DOD National Test Range for high

energy laser test and evaluation. In

addition to laser system test and evaluation, extensive use has been made of

on-site laser systems to perform damage and vulnerability testing on laserhardened materials, missile and aircraft components, and assorted battlefield equipment. The atmospheric sciences/meteorological mission is to

support HELSTF activities by providing atmospheric propagation and meteorological measurements, planning,

and analysis as required. These capabilities also support the safe storage,

handling and use of the toxic laser

fuels.

United States Army Kwajalein Atoll

(USAKA) is a subcommand of USASMDC, which provides operational support to the test facilities at the

Kwajalein Missile Range (KMR). The

KMR meteorological services support

contractor performs meteorological

functions in support of missile operations and for synoptic purposes,

including surface, upper air, and meteorological satellite observations, and

the preparation of daily aviation,

marine and special weather observations for the range.

Army Corps of Engineers Civil

Operational Activities

The Corps of Engineers (COE) operates a land-based network of about

7,400 gages of which 1,900 are limited

observing meteorological sites. The

remainder is hydrologic in nature. The

meteorological portion measures precipitation and other data in the United

States to provide information for regulating COE dams and other water projects used for flood control, navigation,

hydroelectric power, irrigation, water

supply, water quality, and recreation.

The COE transfers funds to NOAA/

National Weather Service (NWS) to

collect and maintain precipitation

information from 900 of these sites.

Similarly, COE transfers funds to the

United States Geological Survey to

maintain precipitation data collection

from 500 sites, while the COE maintains the rest. Data from many of these

sites are automatically telemetered

using satellite, microwave, landlines,

radio, etc. to provide for real-time use

of the data. Although the COE

finances the network, data are made

available to all other federal agencies.

Eighth US Army Support

Eighth United States Army (EUSA)

requires, and uses, Army resources to

conduct two major meteorological

services in direct support of Army

operations: collecting and disseminating upper air observations for artillery

support, and collecting and disseminating limited surface weather observations to support all tactical units and

operations.

Two artillery meteorological

(ARTYMET) crews with the Second

Infantry Division AN/TMQ-31

Meteorological Data Systems are

assigned to collect upper air observations

for direct use by field artillery units.

ARTYMET crews also collect routine

(usually daily) upper air observations for

training; these observations are typically

fed into the global weather database.
76 DOD SECTION 3

Additionally, under the Forward

Area Limited Observing Program

(FALOP), Army personnel use tactical

weather kits to collect limited weather

observations in data sparse, forward

areas. Observations are typically collected by intelligence personnel at

brigade and battalion tactical operations centers during contingencies or

exercises and, in turn, are disseminated

to and through AF WETMs teams supporting Army air, ground, or special

operations.

AF weather personnel assigned to

the 607th Weather Squadron (607 WS)

provide fixed and tactical weather support to EUSA units and installations.

607 WS provides garrison and tactical

weather warning, observing, forecast,

special support, and SWO services

during contingency, exercise, or

armistice operations. 607 WS units

provide direct, on-site support at eight

EUSA installations and at deployed

locations. Support is focused on air,

ground, special operations, and other

combat and combat support missions.

607 WS provides 97 trained weather

personnel and required fixed and tactical weather sensing, data processing,

and communications equipment.

EUSA provides supporting AF units

needed tactical vehicles, MTOE and

Common Table of Allowances (CTA)

equipment, and operating funds (for

expendables, maintenance, etc.).

Training and Doctrine Command

(TRADOC) Programs

HQ TRADOC is responsible for development and management of training programs, writing Army and Joint weather

support doctrine (concepts and field manuals), and establishing the weather

requirements documents for Army tactical weather support equipment.

Headquarters, TRADOC is the approval

authority for Army-AF weather doctrine,

Army weather hardware requirements,

and weather support policy.

Key mission area for the next few

years will be to coordinate Army

weather support requirements during

AFW Reengineering and Army Task

Force XXI Advanced Army

Warfighting Experiments (AWEs).

Deployed weather support will

improve significantly with the digitizing of these experimental Army units.

Customized battlefield weather "visualizations" transmitted via IMETS will

take the place of the stand-up weather

briefings of the past. The AWEs will

result in the development of new tactics, techniques, and procedures for the

exploitation of weather during military

operations. Identified software

enhancements will transition to the

appropriate materiel developer for further integration. Finally, these experiments provide an opportunity to educate Army leaders and their staffs on

the effects of weather on the battlefields of the future. The Capstone

event will be the Joint Contingency

Force War game in summer 2000.

TRADOC schools submit requirements for weather support to HQ

TRADOC for approval. Upon concurrence, HQ TRADOC normally states

requirements for AF support to HQ,

Air Combat Command for implementation. Requirements for Army provided communications or tactical equipment are submitted through ODCSOPS to prioritize and program

resources.

The United States Army Intelligence

Center and Fort Huachuca

(USAIC&FH) is the proponent for

Army tactical weather support.

USAIC&FH works with the

Intelligence Center, Army Research

Laboratory, and the AFWA to identify

and overcome deficiencies in Army

weather support. In addition,

USA&FH is the proponent for

"Owning the Weather", a concept for

exploiting weather as a force multiplier on the battlefield. The USAIC&FH

weather division employs an AF SWO,

a senior Noncommissioned Officer, a

senior meteorologist from Army

Research Laboratory (ARL), and a

civilian intelligence analyst. The division writes weather support concepts,

requirements and doctrine. They

develop and provide weather support

training to Army Intelligence and AFW

personnel supporting the Army.

During 1999 and 2000, they will be

working on the Joint Integrated

Weather Effects Decision Aid

(IWEDA) program, and Joint Target

Acquisition Weather Software for

Electro-Optic weapon support. 

The Staff Weather Officer at the

United States Army Combined Arms

Center facilitates modifications to the

Tables of Organization and Equipment

for Army CWTs, and through the

TRADOC System Manager for Army

Battle Command System and Battle

Command Battle LaboratoryLeavenworth, provides environmental

data for the Command, Control,

Communications, Computer and

Information (C4I) network.

The United States Army Field

Artillery School (USAFAS), Fort Sill,

Oklahoma, is the proponent for upper

air meteorological support to the

Army. Artillery meteorological crews,

active and reserve, currently use the

AN/TMQ-50 to measure surface

weather parameters, and the AN/TMQ-41

Meteorological Measuring Set (MMS)

to take upper air observations. The

MMS provides weather data to the

Field Artillery Tactical Data System

for ballistic calculations; to AF CWTs

for weather forecasting; and to the

Chemical Officer for obscurant deployment and NBC defense operations.

The Engineer School (USAES), Fort

Leonard Wood, Missouri coordinates

weather support requirements for

Terrain Analysis and Topographic

Engineering. USAES develops methods of measuring and forecasting state

of the ground for trafficability assessments using input weather data fields.

Their mission also includes identifying, and documenting requirements to

interface meteorological and engineer

battlefield systems. Due to force cuts,

USAES no longer has a full time civilian meteorologist in the Terrain

Visualization Center.
SECTION 3 DOD 77

In 1999, the Army Military Police

and Chemical Schools will also move

to Ft Leonard Wood. Neither currently

employ staff meteorologists.

The Aviation Center incorporates

weather instruction and procedures

into training programs in their mission

areas. In addition to aviation training

at Cairns AAF, the center has requirements for weather observations and AF

forecast support at Troy Municipal

Airport (MAP), Alabama, and

Andalusia MAP, Alabama.

Additionally, Fort Rucker operates

observing and communications equipment to relay all types of AF-provided

weather information to numerous

Army remote training sites. In

FY 1999, the Aviation Center installed

5 new ASOS.

United States Army Special Operations

Command (USASOC)

The intent of weather support to

USASOC is to provide planning, command decision, and mission execution

weather forecasts and observations to

improve efficiency, effectiveness, and

safety of operations for USASOC

units. USASOC personnel provide

limited meteorological observation

services in direct support of Army

operations using tactical weather kits

to collect limited weather observations

in data sparse, permissive and non-permissive environments. Observations

are typically collected by Army special

operations forces at the team level and

passed to operating bases for use by

Army commanders and staff, as well as

AF Special Operations Weather Team

(SOWT) personnel. AF weather personnel supporting USASOC are

assigned to the 10th Combat Weather

Squadron (CWS). The 10 CWS provides garrison and tactical weather

support to USASOC units including

the 75th Ranger Regiment and three

subordinate battalions, the 160th

Special Operations Aviation Regiment

and three subordinate battalions, and

five Special Forces Groups and their

subordinate battalions. Weather support encompasses climatological information, mission forecasts, command

decision forecasts, aviation forecasts

and observations, drop zone forecasts

and observations, special weather

reconnaissance, and the establishment

of indigenous weather observation networks. The 10 CWS also provides

staff support to USASOC, the United

States Special Forces Command, and

the United States Army John F.

Kennedy Special Warfare Center and

School. USASOC provides supporting

AF units with required tactical vehicles, communications equipment, tactical equipment, and operating funds

(for expendables, maintenance, etc.).

WEATHER SUPPORT FOR

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT,

TEST, AND EVALUATION (RDTE)

Under Army-AF agreement, the

Army has responsibility for weather

support for research, development,

test, and evaluation (RDTE) to support

Army ground combat missions as

specified in AR 115-10/AFJI 15-157.

The Corps of Engineers (COE), and

the Army Materiel Command (AMC)

are the major contributors to weather

research. The Medical Research and

Development Command does research

related to soldiers performance in the

range of weather conditions expected

to be encountered in all theaters of

operations. The Space and Missile

Defense Battle Laboratory (SMDL)

supports research related to spacebased weather products.

Corps of Engineers (COE)

The Corps of Engineers (COE) is

responsible for reviewing all emerging

Army systems for environmental

effects, as stated in AR 70-1. The COE

also manages the Technology

Demonstration (DT-08) program.

Tactical Decision Aids (TDAs) are

developed for this program by three

COE laboratories: Topographic

Engineering Center (TEC), Cold

Regions Research and Engineering

Laboratory (CRREL), and the

Waterways Experiment Station (WES).

TDAs interpret the impact of weather

and terrain conditions on Army systems and operations. They are based

on weather and terrain limitations,

known as critical values. Critical

threshold values are determined from

design criteria, operational testing, or

other evaluations of Army capabilities

in adverse weather. Critical values

define system limitations and are used

by decision-makers to take advantage

over opposing forces. Technology

Demonstration results are being transitioned to terrain and weather systems

such as the IMETS, the Digital

Topographic Support System (DTSS),

the Army Tactical Command and

Control System (ATCCS), and Battle

Command Decision Support System. 

The COE Topographic Engineering

Center (TEC), Fort Belvoir, Virginia

provides basic and applied environmental support to Army R&D programs and coordinates the development of TDAs relating to environmental effects on combat systems, operations, and personnel. This includes the

development and integration of environmental effects databases and models that are relevant to military plans,

operations and the acquisition communities. TEC also develops models and

techniques to assist in the generation of

proxy environmental information (climate and terrain) for data sparse areas

and the integration of models to enable

the spreading of this information spatially over map backgrounds. TEC is

also responsible for developing integrated software modules that are

designed to be exploited in the synthetic environment arena and for developing techniques to portray natural and

induced battlefield environments, thus

enhancing computerized battle simulations. TEC also contributes to the

development of policies and procedures for the consideration of realistic

natural environmental conditions for

application in the materiel acquisition

process. As preparer and custodian of

AR 70-38, TEC provides special climatological studies and guidance to

materiel acquisition activities. TEC
78 DOD SECTION 3

also reviews all emerging materiel systems for environmental effects.

Under the military portion of its civil

and military support mission, the Cold

Regions Research and Engineering

Laboratory (CRREL), Hanover, New

Hampshire, provides weather support

to Army weapon systems RDTE, combat, and combat support mission areas,

and develops climatological studies on

the effects of winter environment on

Army operations. CRREL is responsible for modeling in the areas of Cold

Regions Surface-Air Boundary

Process, Winter Scene Dynamics, and

Spatially Distributed Prediction Over

Winter Terrain. CRREL develops

databases and models predicting

infrared and millimeter wave (MMW)

weapon system performance, and the

capability of technology to enhance

military operations in cold environments. Other specific programs

include weather effects on environmental research for military training

lands, aircraft including helicopter airborne and ground anti-icing and deicing, remote sensing including satellite

weather input for predicting snow coverage and snow melt runoff in Areas of

Operations (AO), special geographic

winter weather interpretation/reporting

for commanders in various AOs, and

special weather effects in winter conditions that directly affect operations.

Army Materiel Command (AMC)

The Army Materiel Command

(AMC) is responsible for the design,

development, test, and evaluation of

equipment to satisfy requirements for

meteorological support equipment.

AMC provides climatological and

meteorological support to RDTE projects involving electro-optics and

obscurants. It is also responsible for

determining weather effects critical

threshold values and environmental

sensitivities of battlefield systems.

AMC has several subcommands and

elements carrying out weather research

and development responsibilities.

TECOM is a subcommand of AMC

providing operational support to 10

ranges and test sites with

Meteorological (MET) Teams. Under

responsibilities established in AR

11510/AFJI 15-157, the TECOM

MET Teams provide weather support

and atmospheric characterization to

Army RDTE. MET Teams provide

atmospheric data collection, analysis,

consultation, warning, and forecast

services for Army and other DOD

RDTE. MET Team FY 1999 funding

has been level for 3 years following

several years of decline, using a combination of both programmed funds

and users funding. This enables

TECOM to continue basic meteorological support at Army RDTE ranges and

sites, but meteorological instrumentation will be acquired through Army

technical development resources or

through direct funding from RDTE

projects for test specific or unique

requirements. TECOM MET

Atmospheric Sciences Branch has a

5year effort with the National Center

for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to

greatly improve "range scale"

(mesoscale to microscale), forecasting

and analysis technology. Using the

MM5 model as a base, this Four

Dimensional Weather (4DWX) System

will present both real-time and forecast

three dimensional pictures of the MET

and other atmospheric characterization

parameters in, around, and up to

50K feet over the Army's test ranges.

The 4DWX system will provide

improved test scheduling, more accurate placement of sensors during a test,

more cost-effective measurements,

data sets for virtual testing, and instantaneous forensic analysis (instant

replay) of the conditions that occurred

during the test. In addition to RDTE

support, the Dugway Meteorology &

Obscurants Division's Modeling and

Assessment Branch provides the following specialized services:

(1) atmospheric model validation, to

include algorithm evaluation and the

generation of validation data sets;

(2) chemical/biological threat analysis,

detection, and decontamination tests

and studies through the Joint Contact

Point (Project DO49); and (3) prototype development of virtual proving

ground meteorological support.

Division members also serve on various national and international committees addressing issues related to meteorological measurements and atmospheric dispersion modeling. 

The ARL Battlefield Environment

(BE) Division is the lead DOD agency

for research and development in the

portion of the atmosphere unique to the

Army warfighter's battlespace--the

planetary boundary layer. BE's mission is to provide the technology and

tools (1) for the soldier to exploit

weather on the battlefield, (2) for the

commander to avoid exposing the soldier to environmental hazards, and

(3) for the materiel developer to minimize system weather impacts, supplying atmospheric effects information.

The joint Army/AF "Own The

Weather" initiative will provide knowledge of current and forecast battlefield

environment conditions, along with

their effects on systems, soldiers, operations, and tactics, to contribute to the

Army's decisive advantage over its

opponents. Within the DOD, BE is the

lead agency for multi-service R&D

programs in transport and dispersion

modeling, boundary layer meteorology

over land, and mobile atmospheric

profiling. In addition, BE contributes

to tri-service goals in the areas of theater data fusion and predictions,

boundary layer processes, and atmospheric effects. The BE program is

driven by the Army's need for meteorological information at smaller scales

than used by either the AF, Navy, or

civilian community, and over datasparse geographic regions. While the

AF provides the Army with its basic

tactical weather support, the Army provides technology to support such service-unique requirements, and Army

systems, as well as distributing this

weather intelligence information to the

Army Command and control systems

on the battlefield.
SECTION 3 DOD 79

The Army has begun an active reprogramming to respond to the new

AFW Reengineering initiatives, and

will work to ensure the ongoing success of the Army weather intelligence

technology. BE continues to develop

and provide the software tools for the

Army's IMETS, and works with the

AFWA and Combat Weather Center to

make IMETS an integral part of the

total battlefield weather support mission.

The BE Division within the ARL

Information Science and Technology

Directorate, consists of four Branches,

two each at the ARL primary side at

Adelphi, Maryland, and the White

Sand Missile Range, New Mexico.

The Adelphi, Maryland, Branches specialize in a basic research program,

while the WSMR Branches support an

applied research development program

for Army tactical applications. BE

opened an experimental site at

Blossom Point, Maryland, in mid1998, in a complex littoral region on

the north shore of the Potomac River,

and will conduct field experiments in

electro-optic and acoustic propagation,

as well as test weather modeling tools.

At the Adelphi Laboratory Center

(ALC) in Maryland, the two branches

are the Atmospheric Acoustics and

Electro-Optics (A&EO) Propagation

Branch and the Boundary Layer

Meteorology and Aerosol Research

Branch (BLM&AR). The A&EO

Branch provides basic research in the

modeling and simulation of environmental effects on acoustic and electrooptics propagation, and laboratory and

field experimental research into environmental effects on acoustic and electro-optic propagation and the mitigation of those effects. The BLM&AR

Branch conducts a research program in

the micro-meteorological processes

and structure of the atmospheric

boundary layer. This program focuses

on the interaction of the land-air interface with wind fields, turbulence, and

fluxes and on optical methods of detection of aerosols (primarily chemicalbiological agents) and the modeling of

their transport and dispersion in the

tactical environment. 

The Weather Exploitation Branch,

Battlefield Environment Division's

R&D efforts involve several areas.

They address tactical weather data

assimilation and distribution, to

include exploitation of commercial and

military satellite technology to move

meteorological data to the battlefield

Tactical Operations Centers and

between echelons. They generate gridded meteorological databases to support C4I systems, mission planning

and rehearsal, and integrate weather

forecast analysis tools to identify the

location and timing of hazardous and

significant weather at small scales in

the boundary layer. They develop rulebased tactical decision aids for impacts

of weather on military systems, platforms and operations. And, they integrate physics based weather effects

models and meteorological satellite

analysis algorithms with weather data

visualization tools for improved mission planning and situation awareness.

As part of the tactical weather product

development, the branch also performs: (1) configuration management

and validation of new products;

(2) improvements through end-user

feedback from Advanced Warfighting

Experiments, TRADOC Concept

Experimentation Programs, and integration at the Army's Central Technical

Support Facility at Ft. Hood; and

(3) delivery of software for integration

into IMETS. The IMETS integration

includes tactical weather overlays,

databases of dynamic gridded weather

parameters, weather effects decision

aids, and weather data visualization

tools, all of which can be executed in

the field using Common

Hardware/Software and Common

Operating Environments. 

BE develops the weather application

software for IMETS that is part of the

Army's effort to digitize the battlefield

and will provide weather capabilities

in the Army's First Digitized Division

(FDD) in FY 2000. From FY 1997 to

the present, BE has successfully used

the Army's Task Force XXI Advanced

Warfighting Experiments (AWE's) to

evaluate and improve its delivered

IMETS Block I and Block II software.

In FY 1999 and FY 2000 the

BE/IMETS tactical weather applications are being upgraded and delivered

for integration to the other C4I tactical

systems operating under the Army

Battle Command System, version 5.0

(ABCS 5.0). These IMETS applications incorporate significant changes in

the sharing of data between battlefield

functional areas by exploiting

client/server relationships and the

IMETS gridded meteorological database. The weather overlays are converted to use the Joint Mapping Tool

Kit (JMTK) software for map overlays. The initial integration of AFW

Reengineering includes passing meteorological data and products from AF

central hub sites to the Army battlefield TOC's using WMO data standards, such as GRIB and BUFR. The

joint rules and critical values for the

BE-developed Integrated Weather

Effects Decision Aid (IWEDA) are

being assembled jointly across the

services to provide a common rulebase for weather impact decision aids.

The Army Research Office (ARO),

Research Triangle Park, North

Carolina manages the Army's extramural basic research program in the

atmospheric sciences. These programs

are concerned with understanding the

dynamics and kinematics processes of

the atmospheric boundary layer at

scales of interest to the Army (millimeters to 10's of kilometers) through

measurements, simulations, and theoretical considerations. The basic

research program is conducted through

the peer-reviewed, individual investigator program and occasional special

initiatives. The focus of the research is

on the atmospheric processes and

effects of the atmospheric boundary

layer where the Army operates.

Objectives of the research are to develop, from first principles, the physical
80 DOD SECTION 3

basis for understanding the boundary

layer processes, thereby leading to better understanding of atmospheric

effects on soldiers, materials, and

weapon systems. The research examines dispersion of battlefield materials,

the effects of heterogeneous terrain

features on airflow, and the development of natural obscurations throughout the diurnal cycle. An essential element of the research is the development of instrumentation to measure the

volumetric fields of wind velocity,

temperature, and moisture of the

boundary layer at turbulence time

scales. Other areas of special funding

are also managed. The Defense

University Research and Instrumentation Program (DURIP) provides funds

for instrumentation needed to support

ongoing research activities. The

Defense Experimental Program to

Stimulate Competitive Research

(EPSCoR) participation is a competition restricted to universities in certain

states that compete for additional basic

research funds. Also, basic research

under the Small Business Innovative

Research Program (SBIR) is managed

for selected topics. At the Army

Research Office, funding for basic

research remains relatively static.

Increased funding will come if special

program initiatives or requests are

approved. The primary focus will be

on analysis and understanding of data

taken in a recent field study of the stable boundary layer.

The CECOM Intelligence and

Electronic Warfare (IEW) Directorate

(Dir), Fort Monmouth, New Jersey assists

the CECOM level II manager and other

internal organizations in developing and

fielding weather support systems; and

helps the program manager, Intelligence

Fusion with technical management of

weather programs. Current programs

supported are the Meteorological

Measuring Set (MMS), the Profiler, and

the IMETS. Abrief description of each of

these programs shows IEW Dir's involvement and supplements earlier discussions

under the other MACOMs.

Meteorological Measuring Set (MMS),

AN/TMQ-41. 

The National Guard is planning to

purchase 40 MMS's beginning in

FY 1999 and continuing through

FY 2002. This purchase will be the

final Army buy of the MMS. The

Intelligence and Information Warfare

Directorate (I2WD) is providing technical support to the system manager

(CECOM Logistics and Readiness

Center) for this effort. All active Army

units have been fielded. The MMS is

an upper air meteorological data collection, processing and dissemination

system that provides data to the field

artillery and target acquisition users.

The system is a non-developmental

item (NDI). The contractor,

Environmental Technologies Group

(ETG), has built 42 systems for the

Army and National Guard, 21 systems

for the Marines, and 11 systems for

Foreign Military Sales (10 for Canada,

1 for Bahrain). Upgrades to the MMS

are currently underway. The Global

Positioning System (GPS) upgrade

will act as a Navigational Aid

(NAVAID) to determine radiosonde

position. GPS will replace the current

NAVAID chains (LORAN-C and

VLF/OMEGA) when they are abandoned. The GPS processor will fit

inside of the meteorological processor.

Another upgrade is the SemiAutomatic Meteorological Station

(SMS), AN/TMQ-50 (Figure 3DOD16).

The SMS will collect atmospheric

pressure, temperature, humidity, wind

speed, and wind direction at the surface and automatically transmit this

data to the meteorological processor.

The GPS and SMS upgrades are being

fielded to all active Army and National

Guard MMS in FY 1999.

The Meteorological Measuring SetProfiler (MMS-P) System.

The Meteorological Measurement

Set-Profiler (MMS-P) is a major product improvement to the MMS. It will

provide current meteorological systems with new capabilities to determine target area MET. A suite of

remote sensing instruments combined

with a meteorological satellite receiver

will eventually replace the current rawinsonde system with an onboard

mesoscale mode for analyses and foreFigure 3-DOD-16. AN/TMQ-50 Semi-automatic Meteorological Station (SMS)
SECTION 3 DOD 81

casts, which will reduce the time staleness of the atmospheric data. These

sensors will be capable of measuring

the atmosphere on an almost continual

basis. The primary remote measurement instruments are a wind profiling

radar and a passive microwave

radiometer for temperature profiles. A

new Semi-Automated Meteorological

Station (SMS) now in the Army inventory, provides surface measurements.

Atmospheric profiles from the ground

based systems are combined with the

soundings generated from meteorological

satellite data to form merged soundings

that can extend from the surface to about

30-km. A mesoscale model with interface software will use the local profiles

and other data (e.g. NOGAPS) to generate a 3-D analysis over an area of up to

500 x 500 km, and forecasts for several

hours. The entire system fits in a shelter

carried by a High Mobility Multi-purpose

Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) plus a

High Mobility Trailer (HMT). Aseparate

vehicle tows a tactical quiet generator.

Preliminary comparisons with rawinsonde data for the first 5 or 6-km upward

from the surface suggest that the MMS-P

profiles are at least as good as concurrent

rawinsonde soundings. Planned

upgrades include neural network methods to derive temperature and wind

soundings from satellite data, an upgraded mesoscale model and improved instrumentation. The instrumentation upgrades

include a moisture profiling capability in

the radiometer, and an electronically

steered radar for very rapid set up times

and potentially the ability to acquire

soundings on the move. ARL performed

the initial research on this project.

CECOM is providing technical assistance to PM, NV/RSTA on the program.

The current plan is to procure two

Engineering and Manufacturing

Development (EMD) models in FY

2000, with a production decision scheduled for FY 2002.

The Integrated Meteorological System

(IMETS) AN/TMQ-40A

IMETS is a tactical meteorological

collection, analysis, forecasting, display and dissemination system. Data

can be collected from sources such as

military and civilian forecast agencies,

satellite imagery, upper air Army

artillery teams, AF weather observation teams, etc. The IMETS is capable

of merging two or more tactical data

displays to form composite displays

over various map and digital terrain

backgrounds; combing satellite

imagery with surface observations; and

display forecast rain and cloud

imagery movement. Data can be disseminated over landlines, area communications and HF radio. FY 1999

efforts will focus completing fielding

of Y2K compliant and Single

Processor Configuration (SPC)/Block

II systems. FY 1999 efforts will also

include developing support documentation to achieve a Milestone III decision for the IMETS Operational

Requirements Document (ORD)

expected to be approved in August

1999. The CECOM Research and

Development Engineering Center

(RDEC) I2WD supports the CECOM

level II manager for the MMS, PM,

NV/RSTA for the Profiler, and PD

IMETS/PM Intel Fusion with technical

management of the programs. I2WD

provides no operational support.

I2WD provides technical engineering

support using customer funding. No

I2WD mission funds are used.

CECOM Logistics and Readiness

Center is buying MMS's for the

National Guard. I2WD will provide

technical support. The National Guard

is providing the funding for this effort.

Medical Research and Materiel

Command

The United States Army Research

Institute of Environmental Medicine

(USARIEM) conducts basic and

applied research on the effects of heat,

cold, high terrestrial altitude, and nutritional status on the health and performance of individual soldiers and combat

crews operating Army systems.

Applied research in thermal physiology and biophysical modeling are

directed toward improving soldier performance and minimizing health risks

in climatic extremes. The sensitivity

of the soldier to weather parameters

(primarily ambient temperature, dew

point, wind speed, and solar radiation)

defines an operational envelope for

unimpaired human performance. The

overall goals of USARIEM's weatherrelated research programs are to develop methods to effectively monitor and,

where possible, extend the operational

Figure 3-DOD-17. AN/TMQ-40A Meteorological System, Automatic.
82 DOD SECTION 3

envelope for both training and operational scenarios.

Current efforts include the development and validation of automated

methods to integrate thermal strain

prediction models with real-time

weather information resources that

are relevant to dismounted infantry

operations. In support of the Army

Ranger training facility at Eglin Air

Force Base (AFB), Florida, Medical

Research and Materiel Command and

USARIEM are participating in the

development of an automated thermal

injury risk assessment system. The

MERCURY-Ranger test bed system

is a partnership effort with the Army

Research Laboratory's Battlefield

Environment Directorate

(ARL/BED), the Canadian Defence

and Civil Institute of Environmental

Medicine (DCIEM), and the US Air

Force 46th Weather Squadron at

Eglin AFB. The test bed system

ingests hourly data from several local

surface weather stations and automatically spreads the data across a 100

by 100 km region using objective and

heuristic interpolation methods. The

resulting high resolution (1-km) gridded weather data fields are then used

as inputs to the thermal strain prediction models for heat stress and cold

air exposure. Results are displayed

as color coded map overlays of thermal injury risk categories or tolerance

times. A prototype cold water partial

immersion model has been developed

and implemented in cooperation with

DCIEM. That model uses real-time

water temperature and depth measurements along with standard weather parameters at river locations to

predict safe exposure times in cold

water river fording scenarios. The

highly automated test bed system is

intended to provide a platform for

evaluating methods needed to translate real-time weather information

into robust assessments of soldier

system health risks and performance

limitations.

Space and Missile Defense Battle

Laboratory (SMDBL)

The Space and Missile Defense

Battle Laboratory (SMDBL), a component of USASMDC, conducts experimentation, testing, and integration

activities for the purpose of providing

space-based weather products to Army

and joint command and control system

users. In January 1998, the Army's

Battlefield Visualization Integrated

Concept Team (BV-ICT) determined

weather products for battle command

was an area requiring immediate attention. With the Battle Command Battle

Laboratory  Leavenworth as executive agent, a group was formed to plan

and execute a battle Laboratory experiment in accordance with TRADOC

Pamphlet 71-9. Partners in the effort

were the Space and Missile Defense

Battle Laboratory (SMDBL), the Army

Research Laboratory, the Project

Director for the IMETS, the Air Force

Combat Weather Center, and the

Combined Arms Center SWO. The

purpose of the experiment was to integrate tactically relevant weather products via the IMETS into the Maneuver

Control System (MCS) and to determine the utility of these products to the

warfighter. SMDBL was specifically

responsible for providing the space

technology as well as the administrative and management structure for the

effort. Further, SMDBL utilized its

Hardware Software Integration Center

for systems integration and testing

activities. Feedback from the Army

Battle Command System and

Battlefield Visualization community

was very positive. It indicated an

appreciation of the joint partnerships

formed, a confirmation that the project

was "on the right track", and that the

BV-ICT would continue to look to the

experiment team to mature the integration of digital weather products into

ABCS platforms. As a result of the initial success of the experiment, work

will continue in FY 1999 with a

TRADOC-funded Concept Experimentation Program (CEP) led by

BCBL-Huachuca. The purpose of the

CEP will be to advance the visualization of weather impact products on battle command systems. SMDBL will

serve as prime developer for the effort. 

SMDBL continues its focus on Army

experimentation by leading the

Tactical Weather initiative in the Joint

Contingency Force Advanced

Warfighting Experiment (JCFAWE).

To be conducted in September 2000,

the Tactical Weather leverages

advances in the Army's IMETS program together with emerging capabilities from AFW Reengineering into a

joint capability for the warfighter.

SMDBL will provide administrative

leadership as well as two space system

capabilities for the experiment. Those

capabilities are the Deployable

Weather Satellite Workstation

(DWSW), which directly acquires and

processes telemetry from civilian and

military weather satellites, and the

Meteorological Automated Sensors &

Transceiver (MAST), which collects

critical surface weather data and passes the information to users via satellite

communications. Not only will the

MAST contribute to the JCFAWE program but will be further tested and

developed in FY 1999 through a series

of experiments to include the III Corps

Warfighter, Northern Edge, and

Roving Sands. SMDBL has partnered

with the AFWA, the Special

Operations Command, and Army

Intelligence Center to use the MAST

as a prototype effort to assist the building of the battlefield weather sensor

architecture of the future.
AVIATION WEATHER MANAGEMENT

NAS Management. For the last few

years, the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) has been focusing on initiatives to prevent accidents

and delays attributable to weather. The

focus on these initiatives underscored

the need for centralized aviation

weather program management.

Feedback from users and other weather service providers only reinforced the

FAA commitment to meet that need. 

On October 1, 1995, the Aviation

Weather Division was established and

staffed with personnel from diverse

backgrounds, such as flight standards,

meteorology, airway facilities, and air

traffic. A reorganization that established the Air Traffic Requirements

Service in early 1997 elevated Aviation

Weather to a Directorate.

The Aviation Weather Directorate is

working diligently to reaffirm FAA's

leadership role in meeting aviation

weather requirements and service.

FAA has been focusing on four major

areas for aviation weather services: 

 Roles and responsibilities.

 Training.

 Technology.

 Investment strategies.

This focus has provided some immediate benefits and, more importantly, will

strengthen the foundation for future

NAS services.

Roles and Responsibilities. The successful execution of a national aviation

weather program is first dependent

upon an explicit and mutually understood definition and acceptance of

roles and responsibilities both within

and outside of the FAA. The execution

of these roles and responsibilities have

been enhanced by the chartering and

complete staffing of the Aviation

Weather Directorate, clarifying FAA

lines of business, and completing intraagency and interagency plans. 

Training. Aviation weather information, which is complex and highly perishable, is most useful when customers

can successfully plan, act, and respond

in ways that avoid accidents and

delays. FAA will improve the ability

of the aviation community to use

weather information through a review

and upgrade of airmen training and

certification programs. FAA will also

develop multimedia training tools to

support aviation safety and training

initiatives. 

Technology. Aviation weather technology includes the ways in which aviation weather information is gathered,

disseminated, and displayed. The

development of this technology also

demands that consideration be given to

human factors and the application of

decision-making tools. FAA will support the use of technology improve

aviation weather information through

integration of federal and non-federal

resources.

Investment Strategies. Sound investment strategies are characterized by

the integration of many activities, primarily those of identifying, planning,

and evaluating. FAA has developed a

sound investment strategy for a national aviation weather program that:

 Communicates the aviation weather

objectives.

 Describes where the FAA wants to be.

 Considers all FAA and non-FAA

funding for aviation weather that

contributes to NAS performance.

 Develops and uses metrics that provide information on the performance of the national aviation weather

program.

AVIATION WEATHER ACQUISITION AND SERVICES

One of the primary functions of the

new organization is the development

and management of requirements for

the FAA Capital Investment Plan.

Recent projects have focused on

weather detection and display systems

for pilots and air traffic controllers to

ensure that aircraft avoid hazardous

weather. The following paragraphs

describe those projects.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WEATHER PROGRAMS

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has the responsibility to provide national and international leadership in the

optimization of aviation weather systems and services. This leadership is manifested through the management of a safe

and efficient National Airspace System (NAS) and the encouragement of consensus and cooperation between government agencies, private weather services, research organizations, and user groups involved in aviation weather. The

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) manages programs that provide federal financial and technical assistance to

the states, promotes safe commercial motor vehicle operations, and provides access to and within national forests and

parks, native American reservations, and other public lands. Safety, efficiency, and mobility in these programs requires

the incorporation and use of timely weather and road condition information. The United States Coast Guard (USCG)

meteorological activities include the taking, collection, and transmission of marine and coastal weather warnings and

observations; deployment and maintenance of offshore environmental monitoring buoys; and the operation of longrange radionavigation networks.

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

SECTION 3 DOT 83
84 DOT SECTION 3

Terminal Aviation Weather Programs

The Integrated Terminal Weather

System (ITWS) will integrate weather

data from sensors in the terminal area

to provide and display compatible,

consistent, real-time products that

require no additional interpretation by

controllers or pilots--the primary users.

ITWS will use data from automated

surface observing systems, Doppler

weather radars, and low-level windshear alert systems, together with

NWS data and products, to forecast

aviation impact parameters, such as

convection, visibility, icing, and windshear, including downbursts. Initial

capabilities will include sensors available now through the early years of the

21st Century. The development is now

in the demonstration phase at several

airports in various climatic regimes.

There will be 34 ITWSs which will

provide displays at 46 high activity airports that are supported by terminal

Doppler weather radars. Full production is expected by the end of calendar

year (CY) 2001 (Figure 3-DOT-1).

The Terminal Doppler Weather

Radar (TDWR) program consists of

the procurement and installation of a

new terminal weather radar based on

Doppler techniques. TDWR units will

be located to optimize the detection of

microbursts and windshear at selected

high activity airports. In addition, it

will have the capability to identify

areas of precipitation and the locations

of thunderstorms (Figure 3-DOT-2). 

Microbursts are weather phenomenon that consist of an intense downdraft with strong surface outflows.

They are particularly dangerous to aircraft that are landing or departing.

TDWR scanning strategy will be optimized for microburst/windshear detection. The radar will be located near the

airport operating areas in a way to best

scan the runways, and the approach

and departure corridors. The displays

will be located in the tower cab and

Terminal Radar Approach Control

(TRACON).

FAA has 39 TDWR systems commissioned and the remaining 6 systems

will be commissioned by the end of

CY 2002. A software upgrade has

been initiated to integrate TDWR and

low level windshear alert system data.

The Low Level Windshear Alert

System (LLWAS) provides pilots with

information on hazardous windshear

conditions that create unsafe conditions for aircraft landings and departures. A total of 110 airports have

LLWAS. The 101 basic systems,

LLWAS-2, consists of a wind sensor

located at center field and 5 or more

sensors near the periphery of the airport (Figure 3-DOT-3). A computer

processes the sensor information and

displays windshear conditions on an

ITWS display to air traffic controllers

for relay to pilots. The improvement

phase, referred to as LLWASRelocation/Sustainment (LLWAS-RS),

will include expanding the network of

sensors, developing improved algorithms for the expanded network, and

installing new information/alert displays. The new information/alert displays will enable controllers to provide

pilots with head wind gain or loss estimates for specific runways. These

improvements will increase the system's windshear detection capability

and reduce false alarms.

Improvements are also expected to

reduce maintenance costs. Forty

LLWASRS are scheduled to be

deployed by CY 2001 to work in conjunction with TDWR. These systems

will provide a synchronous alarm of

windshear to the air traffic controller;

in fact, development of a system is

underway that will integrate the information from these two systems into a

single windshear display.

Investigation is also underway on how

integrated windshear information can

best be communicated or displayed to

the pilot.

The Surface Weather Observing

Program. The FAA has taken responsibility for observations at many airports all across the country. To provide

Figure 3-DOT-1. The ITWS will integrate data from FAA and NWS sensors

and systems to provide a suite of weather informational products.
SECTION 3 DOT 85

the appropriate observational service,

FAA will use automated systems,

human observers, or a mix of the two.

It has been necessary to place airports

into four categories according to the

number of operations per year, any

special designation for the airport, and

the frequency at which the airport is

impacted by weather.

 Level D service is provided by a

stand-alone Automated Weather

Observing System (AWOS) or an

Automated Surface Observing

System (ASOS). In the future,

Level D service may be at as many

as 400 airports.

 Level C service includes the

ASOS/AWOS plus augmentation

by tower personnel. Tower personnel will add to the report observations of thunderstorms, tornadoes,

hail, tower visibility, volcanic ash,

and virga when the tower is in operation. Level C service includes

about 250 airports.

 Level B service includes all of the

weather parameters in Level C

service plus Runway Visual Range

(RVR) and the following when

observed--freezing drizzle versus

freezing rain, ice pellets, snow

depth and snow increasing rapidly

remarks, thunderstorm/lightning

location remarks, and remarks for

observed significant weather not at

the station. Level B service

includes about 57 airports.

 Level A service includes all of the

weather parameters in Level B

service plus 10-minute averaged

RVR for long-line transmission or

additional visibility increments of

1/8, 1/16, and 0 miles. Level A

service includes about 78 airports.

Automated surface weather observing

systems will provide aviation-critical

weather data (e.g., wind velocity, temperature, dew point, altimeter setting,

cloud height, visibility, and precipitation

type, occurrence, and accumulation)

through the use of automated sensors.

These systems will process data and

allow dissemination of output information to a variety of users, including pilots

via computer-generated voice.

FAA has deployed Automated

Weather Observing Systems (AWOS)

at over 200 airports to provide the

basic aviation weather observation

information directly to pilots

approaching the airport. The majority

of these systems were installed at various non-towered airports to enhance

aviation safety and the efficiency of

flight operations by providing realtime weather data at airports that previously did not have local weather

reporting capability. These systems

are built to the standards of quality

necessary to ensure the safety of flight

operations and are available off-theshelf as a commercial product. 

The FAA has negotiated with the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) to procure,

install, operate, and maintain

Automated Surface Observing

Systems (ASOS) at the remaining airports where the FAA provides observations and at additional non-towered

airports without weather reporting

capabilities. A production contract

was awarded in February 1991. The

FAA has 568 systems installed and will

have all commissioned by mid CY 2000.

Figure 3-DOT-2. FAA Terminal Doppler Weather Radars provide supplementary wind and precipitation conditions for airport approach and departure. 
86 DOT SECTION 3

The AWOS/ASOS Data Acquisition

System (ADAS) will function primarily as a message concentrator and will

collect weather messages from AWOS

and ASOS equipment located at controlled and non-controlled airports

within each air route traffic control

center's (ARTCC) area of responsibility. ADAS will distribute minute-byminute AWOS/ASOS data to the

Weather and Radar Processor (WARP)

within the air route traffic control center in which it is installed. ADAS will

also distribute AWOS data to the

National Airspace Data Interchange

Network (NADIN) which will in turn

forward the data to Weather Message

Switching Center Replacement

(WMSCR) for further distribution.

Field implementation of ADAS has

been completed.

Automated Lightning Detection and

Reporting System (ALDARS).

ALDARS is a system adjunct to the

ADAS. It collects lightning stroke information from the National Lightning

Detection Network and disseminates this

data to AWOS/ASOS for the reporting of

thunderstorms in METAR or SPECI

observations, when appropriate. The use

of ALDARS eliminates the need for

manual reporting of thunderstorms.

Stand Alone Weather Sensors. These

sensors are planned to be back-up for

some AWOS/ASOS sensors at locations where no other back-up capability is available. Full delivery is expected by CY 2001. 

AWOS for Non-Federal Applications.

Under the Airport Improvement

Program (AIP), state and other local

jurisdictions may justify to the FAA

their need to enhance their airport

facilities. Upon approval, these

improvements may be partially funded

by the FAA using resources from the

Airway Trust Fund. The local airport

authority becomes responsible for the

remainder of the funding necessary to

complete the procurement as well as

the funding for the regular maintenance. The addition of an AWOS is

one of the improvements that qualify

for AIP funding assistance. Systems

that qualify must meet certain standards which are defined in an FAA

Advisory Circular on Non-Federal

Automated Weather Observing Systems.

There are currently five versions of

the non-Federal AWOS. An AWOS-A

provides only altimeter setting. The

AWOS I system contains sensors to

measure wind direction and speed,

ambient and dew point temperatures,

altimeter setting, and density altitude.

The AWOS II contains the AWOS I

sensors plus a visibility sensor; AWOS

III adds a cloud height sensor to an

AWOS II. AWOS IV will include

AWOS III capabilities plus the option

for precipitation identification, thunderstorm detection, and runway surface condition. Most importantly, all

versions are required to have the capability to broadcast a minute-by-minute

update of the current weather to the

pilot by radio, using a computer-generated voice output. AWOS III also

enables the pilot, as part of their preflight activities, to call the AWOS and

obtain the current weather observation.

In addition, the observation may be

transmitted to the database within the

national weather network.

There are more than 275 non-Federal

AWOS locations. Some of these are

capable of reporting through a geostationary communications satellite, and

many more will acquire that capability

during the year. These observations

will be entered into the national network for use in support of the NAS and

the national weather network.

The New Generation Runway Visual

Range (RVR) program provides for a

new generation RVR sub-element of

the NAS. The RVR provides runway

visual range information to controllers

and users in support of precision landing and takeoff operations. The new

generation RVR incorporates state-ofthe-art sensor technology and imbedded remote maintenance monitoring.

FAA plans to procure and install these

RVR systems at all new qualifying

locations. FAA plans also call for the

replacement of many existing RVRs in

the NAS inventory.

The RVR provides for near real-time

measurement of visibility conditions

along a runway (up to three points

along the runway can be measured--

touchdown, midpoint, and rollout) and

reports these visibility conditions to air

traffic controllers and other users. The

system automatically collects and formats data from three sensors: a visiFigure 3-DOT-3. Artists drawing of LLWAS tower positions on an airfield.
SECTION 3 DOT 87

bility sensor--forward scatter meters

will replace the transmissometers currently in use, a runway light intensity

monitor for both runway edges and

center-line lights, and an ambient light

sensor which controls computer calculations using a day or night algorithm.

The data processing unit calculates

RVR products and distributes the products to controllers and other users. 

A total of 528 RVR visibility sensors

will be deployed at 264 airports.

Delivery of the new RVR sensors began

in November 1998. Sixty new RVRs have

been fielded with the rest expected by the

end of CY 2001. Enhancements are

planned to interface with the Tower

Control Computer Complex and the

ASOS by mid 2000.

En Route Aviation Weather Programs

The FAA is procuring the

Operational and Supportability

Implementation System (OASIS) to

improve weather products, flight information, aeronautical data collection,

analysis, and timeliness of dissemination and, thereby, enhance the safety

and efficiency of the NAS. OASIS

will replace the Model-1 Full Capacity

Flight Service Automation System,

which includes the Aviation Weather

Processor. OASIS will also integrate

the Interim Graphic Weather Display

System functions and include several

automated flight service data handling

capabilities. This configuration will be

its initial deployment capability.

Operational testing began in 1999; full

deployment will commence in

FY 2001.

Future enhancements leading to the

full capability deployment will

include: interactive alphanumeric and

graphic weather briefings, direct user

access terminal (DUAT) service functionality, automated special use airspace, and training support. OASIS

will support flight planning, weather

briefings, NOTAM service, search and

rescue, and pilot access terminal services.

The Next Generation Weather Radar

(NEXRAD), known operationally as

the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988

Doppler (WSR-88D), is a multiagency

program that defined, developed, and

implemented the new weather radar.

Field implementation began in 1990

and was completed in 1996. There are

a total of 161 WSR-88D systems

deployed. The FAA sponsored 12 systems in Alaska, Hawaii, and the

Caribbean. DOC and DOD

WSR88Ds provide coverage over the

continental United States.

The FAA emphasized the development of WSR-88D algorithms that take

advantage of the improved detection of

precipitation, wind velocity, and hazardous storms. The FAA also stressed

that these algorithms provide new or

improved aviation-oriented products.

These improvements in detection of

hazardous weather will reduce flight

delays and improve flight planning

services through aviation weather

products related to wind, windshear,

thunderstorm detection, storm movement prediction, precipitation, hail,

frontal activity, and mesocyclones and

tornadoes. WSR-88D data provided to

ATC through the WARP will increase

aviation safety and fuel efficiency.

In addition, the three funding agencies support the field sites through the

WSR-88D Operational Support

Facility (OSF) at Norman, Oklahoma.

The OSF provides software maintenance, operational troubleshooting,

configuration control, and training.

Planned product improvements

include a shift to an open architecture

and the development of more algorithms associated with specific weather events, such as hurricanes.

A new Air Route Surveillance Radar

(ARSR-4) provides the ARTCCs with

accurate multiple weather levels out to

200 nautical miles. The ARSR-4 is the

first en route radar with the ability to

accurately report targets in weather.

The ARSR-4 can provide weather

information to supplement other

sources. The ARSR-4 is a joint

FAA/USAF funded project. Forty

joint radar sites were installed during

the 1992-1995 period.

Aviation Weather Processing Programs

The Weather and Radar Processor

(WARP), Stage 0 has replaced the

Meteorologists Weather Processor to

provide aviation weather information

to the Center Weather Service Units.

Stage 1 and 2 will automatically create

unique regional, WSR-88D-based,

mosaic products, and send these products, along with other time-critical

weather information, to controllers

through the Display System

Replacement and to pilots via the

Flight Information system (FIS).

WARP will greatly enhance the dissemination of aviation weather information throughout the NAS. WARP is

currently undergoing operational testing and evaluation and will be fielded

at the ARTCCs in CY 2000.

The Direct User Access Terminal

(DUAT) system has been operational

since February 1990. Through DUAT,

pilots are able to access weather and

NOTAMs and also file their IFR

and/or VFR flight plans from their

home or office personal computer.

This system will eventually be

absorbed into OASIS. 

Aviation Weather Communications

It should be noted that FAA communications systems are multipurpose.

Weather data, products, and information constitute a large percentage of the

traffic, as do NOTAMS, flight plans

and other aeronautical data.

The National Airspace Data

Interchange Network (NADIN II)

packet-switched network was implemented to serve as the primary interfacility data communications resource

for a large community of NAS computer subsystems. The network design

incorporates state-of-the-art packetswitching technology into a highly

connected backbone network, which

provides extremely high data flow

capacity and efficiency to the network

users. NADIN II consists of opera-
88 DOT SECTION 3

tional switching nodes at each Area

Control Facility and two network control centers (and nodes) at the National

Aviation Weather Processing Facilities

at Salt Lake City, Utah, and Atlanta,

Georgia. It will interface directly to

WMSCR, WARP, ADAS, TMS,

ACCC, and the Consolidated

NOTAM System. NADIN II also may

be used as the intra-facility communications system between these (collocated) users during transition to end

state.

The Weather Message Switching

Center Replacement (WMSCR) replaces

the weather message switching center

(WMSC) located at FAA's National

Communications Center (NATCOM),

Kansas City, Missouri, with state-of-theart technology. It performs all current

alphanumeric weather data handling

functions of the WMSC and the storage

and distribution of NOTAMs. WMSCR

will rely on NADIN for a majority of its

communications support. The system

will accommodate graphic data and

function as the primary FAA gateway to

the NWS' National Centers for

Environmental Prediction (NCEP)--the

principal source of NWS products for the

NAS.

To provide for geographic redundancy,

the system has nodes in the NADIN

buildings in Atlanta, Georgia, and Salt

Lake City, Utah. Each node supports

approximately one-half of the United

States and will continuously exchange

information with the other to ensure that

both nodes have identical national databases. In the event of a nodal failure, the

surviving one will assume responsibility

for dissemination to the entire network.

The Flight Information Service is a

new communications systems to provide

weather information to pilots in the cockpit. FIS is a partnership program among

the government and private industry with

the government providing the base information and the bandwidth and the private companies the broadcast and valueadded products. New products are

screened for technical suitability and

value to the pilots.

The Worldwide Aeronautical Forecast

System (WAFS) is a three geosynchronous satellite-based system for collecting

and disseminating aviation weather

information and products to/from

domestic or international aviation offices

as well as in-flight aircraft. The information and products are prepared at designated offices in Washington, District of

Columbia, and Bracknell, United

Kingdom. The United States portion of

WAFS is a joint project of the FAA and

NWS to meet requirements of the member states of the International Civil

Aviation Organization (ICAO). FAA

funds the satellite communications link,

and the NWS provides the information

stream.

Two of the three satellites are funded

by the United States. The first is located

over the western Atlantic with a footprint

covering western Africa and Europe, the

Atlantic Ocean, South America, and

North America (except for the West

Coast and Alaska). The second United

States-funded satellite is positioned over

the Pacific and covers the United States

West Coast and Alaska, the Pacific

Ocean, and the Pacific rim of Asia. The

third satellite is stationed over the western Indian Ocean and covers the remaining areas of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The data available via WAFS include

flight winds, observations, forecasts,

SIGMETs, AIRMETs, and hazards to

aviation including volcanic ash clouds.

AVIATION WEATHER RESEARCH

PROGRAM

Working closely with the Integrated

Product Team for Surveillance and

Weather, the Aviation Weather

Directorate sponsors research on specific

aviation weather concerns, such as inflight icing. This research is performed

through collaborative efforts with the

National Science Foundation (NSF), the

NWS, and the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology's Lincoln Laboratory. A primary concern is the effective management of limited research, engineering,

and development resources.

Improved Aircraft Icing Forecasts.

The purpose of this initiative is to establish a comprehensive multi-year research

and development effort to improve aircraft icing forecasts as described in the

FAAs Aircraft Icing Plan. The objectives of this plan are to develop: (1) an

icing severity index, (2) icing guidance

models, and (3) a better comprehension

of synoptic and mesoscale conditions

leading to icing. The result of this effort

will be an improved icing forecasting

capability that provides pilots with more

timely and accurate forecasts of actual

and expected icing areas by location, altitude, duration, and potential severity.

Convective Weather Forecasting. The

purpose of this research effort is to establish more comprehensive knowledge on

the conditions that trigger convection

and thunderstorms and, in general, the

dynamics of a thunderstorm's life cycle.

The program will lead to enhanced capability to predict growth, movement, and

type of precipitation from thunderstorms.

Gaining this forecast capability will

allow better use of the airspace and help

aircraft avoid areas with hazardous convective conditions.

Model Development and

Enhancement. This research is aimed at

developing or improving models to better characterize the in-flight environment

and, thereby, deliver superior aviation

weather products to end users.

Weather Support to Deicing Decision

Making. This system develops products

that provide forecasts on the intensity of

snow and freezing rain, and how or when

these phenomena will change in the short

term. This information is needed by airport management to determine when an

aircraft will require deicing before takeoff. The water content of snow is

believed to be an important factor. FAA

has made this system available to airport

authorities that wish to use it as a decision aid.

Other Aviation Weather Research.

Other aviation weather research programs that are continuing, but at a lower

level of funding, pertain to ceiling and

visibility, and turbulence detection.
SECTION 3 DOT 89

The FHWA vision is to create:

 the safest and most efficient and

effective highway and intermodal

transportation system in the world;

 a transportation system where

crashes, delays, and congestion are

significantly reduced;

 a transportation system where

freight moves easily and at the lowest costs;

 a system where roads protect

ecosystems and where travel on

our roadways does not degrade

environmental quality;

 a system where transit, pedestrians, and bicyclists are accommodated; and

 a system where transportation

services are restored immediately

after disasters and emergencies. 

The Federal Highway Administration

(FHWA) manages the Federal-Aid

Highway Program that provides federal financial and technical assistance to

the states to plan, construct, and

improve the National Highway

System, urban and rural roads, and

bridges. The Motor Carrier Safety

Program of the FHWA promotes safe

commercial motor vehicle operations

to reduce crashes. The Federal Lands

Highway Program provides access to

and within National Forests, National

Parks, Indian Lands and other public

lands by administering the Federal

Lands Highway, Emergency Relief,

and Defense Access Roads Programs.

Safety, efficiency and mobility in all

these programs requires improved

Road Weather Information Systems

(RWIS) that include specialized road

condition sensors and forecast services

from the National Weather Service

(NWS) and private vendors. The

FHWA is expanding the RWIS scope

to a Weather Information for Surface

Transportation (WIST) system as part

of intermodal surface transportation

technology development and within

the context of Intelligent Transportation

Systems (ITS).

Although the FHWA does not build

nor operate highways, other than

through the Federal Lands Highway

Program, it accomplishes its mission

by providing leadership, expertise,

resources and information in cooperation with state and local highway agencies who do own and operate the roads.

The FHWA has a significant role,

working through partnerships, programs, policies, and allocating

resources which facilitate the strategic

development, maintenance, and operation of state and local transportation

systems.

The FHWA's strategic goals to support its mission and achieve its vision

are: mobility, including the objective

to reduce delays on Federal-aid highways by 20 percent in 10 years; safety, including the objective to achieve

20 percent reduction in the number of

highway-related fatalities and serious

injuries in 10 years; productivity

through more efficient transportation;

human and natural environment by

reducing highway-related pollution,

and; national security through improving the Nation's national defense

mobility.

Weather information to support decisions by highway managers, fleet managers, and travelers is a vital part of

achieving FHWA's strategic goals.

Mobility, productivity, and national

security are dependent on weather

information for timely and appropriate

highway snow and ice treatment, route

closures, and trip planning to avoid

adverse conditions and areas. The natural environment is affected by runoff

of ice treatment materials and by air

pollutants from vehicles. The impacts

of both runoff and pollutants can be

better managed with improved weather

information. Above all, weather is a

factor in safety. Each year, more than

40,000 Americans die and 3 million

more are injured in motor vehicle

crashes on our highways. Adverse

weather conditions are associated with

18 percent of fatal crashes and 21 percent of injury crashes. In addition to

these injuries and fatalities, incident

management to save lives depends on

weather information for improved dispatching of response resources.

The FHWA has been active in promoting RWIS development. These

remote-sensing systems have primarily

served the snow removal and ice treatment functions of highway management. Some states cooperate with the

NWS in operating joint weather observation sites or sharing data from the

roadside sensor systems. Both

Colorado and Minnesota State DOT's

share the weather data from the roadside mesonets with the NWS forecast

offices. 

The FHWA is now pursuing an

expanded scope of its WIST system

development as an effort that cuts

across several programs. In January,

1997, the FHWA formed a Weather

Team to develop weather information

requirements using the ITS program

and the National ITS Architecture as a

framework. The Weather Team directly coordinates activities of offices

within the FHWA that are concerned

with weather information for surface

transportation. Most of this work takes

place within the Operations Core

Business Unit, but is also coordinated

across the other business units of

Infrastructure, Planning and

Environment, Federal Lands

Highways, and Motor Carrier and

Highway Safety. The Service Business

Unit of Research, Development, and

Technology also participates in the

program. Through the ITS Joint

Program Office, which is housed within the Operations Core Business Unit,

and via the OFCM, the Weather Team

is fostering cooperative agreements

between the surface transportation

administrations of DOT and other federal agencies with meteorological programs and services.

FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
90 DOT SECTION 3

Regular federal aid for projects can

include ITS and weather information

components. The Surface Transportation

Research Program under the

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st

Century (TEA-21) includes provisions

to sponsor weather-related projects. A

large part of surface transportation

research is conducted through university research grants and federal-aid

research funds that are apportioned to

the 50 states. States can also pool their

research funds to focus on specific program areas. For example, the Aurora

consortium was formed in this manner

specifically to address surface transportation weather information issues.

In the early 1990's, the Strategic

Highway Research Program (SHRP)

included an RWIS study (SHRP-H-350

and 351--1993) to investigate the role

of improved weather sensing to

achieve more effective highway snow

and ice treatment. SHRP was a unit of

the National Research Council and

studies a number of transportationrelated subjects including RWIS.

Based on the SHRP findings and further field testing and evaluation, the

FHWA has published the Manual for

an Effective Anti-Icing Program

(FHWA-RD-95-202--1996). The manual provided guidance to maintenance

managers and focused on implementation of a systematic and efficient antiicing program.

In 1997, the FHWA began funding a

30-month operational test on a weather information system proposed by the

Foretell consortium. The Foretell consortium is a private-public partnership

and includes the DOTs of several

states, federal agencies, and private

industry. The Foretell project will

forge new dissemination links between

user of weather information and the

Local Analysis and Prediction System

(LAPS) being developed by NOAA's

Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL) for

the NWS's Weather Forecast Offices

(WFOs).

Within the WIST system, the team

envisions a need for better highwayspecific observations that include more

surface weather parameters and higher

resolution forecasts provided by

mesoscale numerical models at 1-3

hourly intervals. However, this

increased volume of weather information will result in a demanding data

assimilation and processing task for

highway maintenance and other decision makers. A white paper prepared

by the FHWA Weather Team identifies

decision support and graphical aids as

the key focus of surface transportation

interests. Consequently, the team's

agenda includes development of ITS

components that filter, fuse, and present weather and other transportation

information into visual aids that can

facilitate specific decisions for road

maintenance personnel, local transportation officials, commuters, travelers, trucking industry, etc. Of particular interest are risk-based decision

making techniques and processes that

include the incorporation of statistical

information. These risk-based decisions encompass a myriad of variables

and scales, i.e., observations from standard and non-standard sources, synoptic to mesoscale models, current and

climatic data, etc. which must be fused

with other meteorological guidance

and transportation user requirements to

produce mid- and long-range planning

information.

In FY 2000, the FHWA will coordinate its meteorological activities

through the Weather and Winter

Mobility Program within the Office of

Transportation Operations, Operations

Core Business Unit. The Weather

Team will be rechartered as a crossagency coordination group. The

Weather Team's first operational test,

FORETELL, will be operational in the

winter of 1999-2000. An evaluation

will begin to assess user acceptance

among highway maintenance decisionmakers. Research projects and another

operational test will be initiated, focusing on decision support and RWIS

observation assimilation.

As part of the OFCM effort to document surface transportation weather

requirements, FHWA will conduct a

requirements study that will focus initially on winter road maintenance.

This study will develop detailed

weather event and operational decision

scenarios which will serve to define

operational concepts. The operational

concepts will lead to the development

of requirements and, within the ITS

context, the conceptual WIST system.

Stakeholder groups representing both

public and private interests will be

solicited to participate in the study. In

addition, several of the national R&D

laboratories will be enlisted to define

state-of-the-art concepts for system

definition.

Figure 3-DOT-3. State DOTs with

funding from FHWA are deploying

Road Weather Information System

along major highways throughout the

country. 
SECTION 3 DOT 91

Although no Coast Guard cutters or

shore units are solely dedicated to

meteorology, they collectively perform

a variety of functions in support of the

national meteorology program. USCG

ocean-going cutters and coastal stations provide weather observations to

the NWS. Coast Guard communications stations broadcast NWS marine

forecasts, weather warnings, and

weather facsimile charts and, also, collect weather observations from commercial shipping for the NWS. The

Coast Guard also operates the LORAN C

radionavigation system and the

Maritime Differential GPS (DGPS)

Service, which provide positioning

data for meteorological observation

(e.g. radiosondes). The LORAN C

system provides Position, Navigation,

and Timing (PNT) information to a

variety of navigation and non-navigation users throughout the continental

United States and Alaska. The

Maritime DGPS Service is an augmentation to the GPS that improves GPS

only accuracy to better than ten meters

and provides DGPS coverage to

coastal areas of the continental United

States, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico,

portions of Alaska and Hawaii, and

portions of the Mississippi River

Basin.

USCG maintains the International

Ice Patrol (IIP) which uses sensorequipped aircraft to patrol the Grand

Banks of Newfoundland to locate and

track icebergs which pose a hazard to

North Atlantic shipping. Direct observations are supplemented and extrapolated using a numerical iceberg drift

and deterioration model. IIP determines the geographic limits of the iceberg hazard and, twice daily, broadcasts iceberg warning bulletins and ice

facsimile charts which define the limits

of the iceberg threat during the iceberg

season (spring and summer). IIP annually archives data on all confirmed and

suspected targets, and forward these

data to the National Snow and Ice Data

Center. These data can be accessed via

the IIP web page www.uscg.mil/

lantarea/iip/home.html. Archived data

contains all iceberg sighting data along

with the last model-predicted position

of each berg.

The Coast Guard participates with

the Navy and NOAA in conducting the

National Ice Center, a multi-agency

operational center that produces analyses and forecasts of Arctic, Antarctic,

Great Lakes, and coastal ice conditions.

The Coast Guard also collaborates

with NOAA in operating the National

Data Buoy Center (NDBC) which

deploys and maintains NOAA's automated network of environmental monitoring platforms in the deep ocean and

coastal regions. Twelve Coast Guard

personnel fill key technical and logistics support positions within NDBC,

with the senior Coast Guard officer

assigned serving as the NDBC Deputy

Director Coast Guard cutters support

the deployment and retrieval of data

buoys, and provide periodic maintenance visits to both buoys and coastal

stations, expending approximately 180

cutter days annually. Coast Guard aircraft, small boats, and shore facilities

also provide NDBC support.

Meteorological activities are coordinated by the Icebreaking Division of

the Office of Aids to Navigation Safety

and Waterways Services at Coast

Guard Headquarters. Field management of Coast Guard meteorological

support services is accomplished as the

Coast Guard Area and District levels.

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

Figure 3-DOT-4. USCG Seagoing Buoy Tenders (WLD) provide maintenance

platforms for NOAAs National Data Buoy Center.
The World Agricultural Outlook

Board (WAOB), in cooperation with

National Weather Service's (NWS)

Climate Prediction Center, staffs and

supports the Joint Agricultural Weather

Facility (JAWF). The JAWF monitors

the daily weather patterns around the

world. WAOB agricultural meteorologists convert the weather data into

information to assess crop development and yield potential of all major

commodity crops for the major producing areas of the world. Special

weekly briefings are provided to the

Secretary of Agriculture and to the

economic and commodity analysts of

USDA. The Senate and House

Agricultural Committees also request

periodic briefings on crop-related

drought effects as in the 1988 and 1989

drought years and in the 1996

Southwest regional drought. In 1998

and 1999, El Niño and La Niña related

drought briefings were requested by

the House Agricultural Committee. 

Historically, the Forest Service (FS)

has collected meteorological data to

assist in the control of forest fires and

in the management of smoke from prescribed burning. Other activities also

require weather data to ensure sound

management decisions. To support

these needs and requirements, a

national weather program was established to coordinate all FS meteorological activities and to meet the increasing need for diverse weather information. The major objectives of the program are to: (1) improve quality control of weather data, (2) improve the

design and operation of data collection

from networks, (3) increase data

recovery from the weather stations,

and (4) upgrade station maintenance.

Meteorological data collected from

manual weather stations and Remote

Automated Weather Stations (RAWS)

support research of weather effects on

forestry management, forest fires,

smoke management, visibility protection in wilderness areas, and atmospheric deposition. A weather information management system and a library

to archive all FS weather data are

being developed in cooperation with

regional climate centers. The FS monitoring network will provide essential

data for use in Global Change

Research Program (GCRP) work.

Currently, the FS operates more than

900 RAWS and manual stations, many

in the western United States. Air temperature, relative humidity, soil moisture, wind direction and speed, and

precipitation are transmitted via

NOAA's Geostationary Operational

Environmental Satellite (GOES)

telemetry. These data are received via

a direct-readout ground site in Boise,

Idaho, in cooperation with the Bureau

of Land Management. The main use of

the data is in the calculation of the fire

danger rating for the FS and cooperating agencies. These data are also used

by other resource managers, such as,

road engineers, wildlife biologists, and

hydrologists who monitor precipitation; silviculturalists (who are attempting to maximize tree-planting opportunities); and ecologists, soil specialists,

and fisheries biologists (who monitor

the effects of runoff). Another major

user of RAWS data is the NWS for fire

weather forecasting and flood warnings.

The Natural Resources Conservation

Service (NRCS) operates a network of

1,400 manual snow courses and over

550 automated data collection sites in

conjunction with the Snow Telemetry

(SNOTEL) project for the western

United States and Alaska. The primary

objective of the project is to forecast

water supplies and streamflow for the

coming spring run-off season. These

measurements are made in cooperation

with other federal, state, and local

agencies, power companies, irrigation

companies, and the provincial government of British Columbia.

Water-supply forecasts help irrigators make the most effective use of

available streamflow for achieving

their agricultural production goals.

Farmers, who collectively irrigate

more than 10 million acres of land in

the western United States, benefit from

these water supply forecasts. Other

federal agencies and private organizations also use water supply forecast

information to help them carry out

their missions. These forecasts also

help the federal government in administering international water treaties.

NRCS continues to upgrade the

SNOTEL data collection system. The

effort includes upgrading the data collection sites in the existing SNOTEL

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WEATHER PROGRAMS

Weather is the most important factor influencing the Nation's variability in crop yields and related production. The

Nation's food and fiber products are a critical resource impacting our domestic and international economic position and

have taken on new dimensions in foreign affairs and national security. The recent expansion in export markets has

reduced stocks and benefitted our farm sectors as global consumption of total grains has exceeded production in 3 of

the last 4 years. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducts supporting research that focuses on

understanding the interactions of weather and climate with plants, animals, forests, and forest ecological systems, and

assists the Department of Commerce in determining farmers' needs for weather information and in disseminating that

information to them.

SECTION 3 USDA 93
94 USDA SECTION 3

system with new state-of-the-art equipment and adding additional sites. The

data collection site upgrades include

replacement of snow pillows, transducers, damaged precipitation gages,

antennas, towers, solar panels, battery

temperature sensors, and deteriorated

shelter houses.

SUPPORTING RESEARCH

The mission of the USDA supporting

research program is to develop and

disseminate information and techniques to ensure high quality commodities and products while minimizing any adverse effects of agriculture

on the environment. As part of the

USDA reorganization, the Undersecretary for Research, Education, and

Economics was created. This reorganization included the merger of the

Cooperative State Research Service

and the Extension Service, and the

transfer of the Economic Research

Service and the National Agricultural

Statistics Service (NASS).

The research efforts of the

Agricultural Research Service (ARS)

relate directly to the effects of climate

on agricultural production and the natural resource base. These efforts are

directed toward developing technologies and systems for: (1) managing

precipitation and solar energy for optimum crop production; (2) improving

our understanding of water-plantatmosphere interactions; (3) optimizing the use of energy, water, and agricultural chemicals; (4) reducing plant

and livestock losses from pests and

environmental stress; (5) developing

improved techniques for irrigation and

drainage; and (6) minimizing the

adverse effects of climate and weather,

including atmospheric contaminants,

on the environment.

The Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extensive Service

(CSREES) coordinates research programs in the state agricultural experiment stations, the 1890 Land Grant

Distributions, and cooperating forestry

schools. These institutions conduct a

wide variety of research applicable to

agriculture and forestry. Meteorological research in these institutions is

practically all climatological. A proportion of each state's program is consolidated into broad regional research

projects. Animals and plants are subjected to many climatic stresses and,

therefore, are the focus of this

research. Research on the changes in

levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation as

part of the GCRP was significantly

expanded through the CSREES competitive grants program in FY 1994.

The work is coordinated with EPA's

UV radiation program and will support

assessment efforts to develop related

national policy on the environment.

Investigations by NASS support

domestic crop estimating programs for

all major commodities. Promising

studies are underway to develop models relating weather parameters and

associated variables to corn ear weight

and wheat head weight. Previous

efforts to develop models for shortterm forecasting have had only limited

success. Research will continue in this

area with the expectation that the relationships between weather variables

and crop yield will improve as better

plant process models become available

and more information, such as soil

moisture, are operationally observed.

A NASS program to explore the use

of satellite and weather data for assessing crop conditions is continuing. A

preliminary investigation using polarorbiting meteorological satellite data

showed a good relationship between

crop conditions and reflectance data as

determined by the agreement between

measured and forecast final corn and

soybean yields. The crop conditions

assessment procedures, based on meteorological satellite data, are being

automated and near real-time applications are being explored.

FS research includes efforts to:

(1) understand and control forest fire

initiation by lightning, (2) improve the

translation of mid-range forecast elements to describe forestry conditions,

(3) incorporate drought information

into management decision-making,

and (4) better describe how regional

climatic variability affects the use of

daily weather information by foresters.

The FS long-term monitoring network

will provide critical data for use in the

GCRP work.
The Department of Energy (DOE) is

a leading science and technology

agency. Its research and other activities support our Nation's energy security, national security, environmental

quality, and contributes to a better

quality of life for all Americans

(http://home.doe.gov). Atmospheric science research and operations have

been an integral part of DOE's (and its

predecessor agencies') science and

technology mission component since

the Cold War era. It is essential to

understand the nature of the atmospheric domain and how energy use

influences its attributes. Today's global

climate change issues/outcomes will

rely on information obtained through

basic, atmospheric science research

programs that one day will reduce substantial uncertainties in these areas.

DOE coordinates programmatic

activities through its Offices of

Defense Programs, Science,

Environmental Management, and

Energy Efficiency and Renewable, to

name a few. These offices are responsible for the management of scientific

research programs such as the

Atmospheric Release Advisory

Capability (ARAC), the Atmospheric

Radiation Measurement (ARM)

Program, and various clean up activities at former production sites.

Meteorological services at DOE

facilities range from complex research

and development programs to providing daily operational support. Some

examples of research and development

are investigations of potential global

climatic change, radiation studies, and

studies of atmospheric processes.

Operational support programs include

daily customized weather forecasting

services, special project support, onsite

meteorological monitoring programs,

climatology services, and emergency

response program assistance. Some

DOE sites maintain 24-hour weather

watches for severe weather conditions

that could impact site operations, damage property, or threaten lives.

Several DOE field offices, such as

Idaho (Idaho Falls, Idaho) and

Savannah River (Aiken, South

Carolina) Operations Offices cover

large areas, and some sites contain

complex topography and heterogenous

surface characteristics, creating locally

driven conditions that influence on-site

weather. For these reasons and to protect public health and safety and environment, on-site meteorological monitoring has been and remains an essential part of DOE atmospheric science

programs. 

Some DOE sites contribute to the

national weather observing network by

taking standard surface and upper-air

observations. Many of these sites are

in remote areas where weather observations would be sparse if not for the

presence of DOE meteorological monitoring programs. Weather observations taken at a few DOE field sites are

entered into the national weather database via the National Weather Service

(NWS) meteorological data distribution and display system. This distribution and display system interconnects

field offices and serves as the distribution system for NWS meteorological

products that are centrally produced by

the National Centers for

Environmental Prediction (NCEP).

Other DOE sites employ Automation

of Field Operations and Services

(AFOS) units connected to the NWS

AFOS network through NOAA's Air

Resources Laboratory (ARL), Las

Vegas, Nevada. NOAA's ARL supports the DOE/Nevada Operations

Office and serves as the hub for the

NWS/DOE AFOS network.

An accidental release of radioactive

or toxic material into the atmosphere

can have potentially serious health and

environmental consequences. Meteorological processes play a key role in

determining the fate of pollutants

released into the atmosphere. For

example, the processing, fabricating,

and underground testing of nuclear

weapons all have the potential for

industrial accident scenarios. In addition to these activities, the use of

nuclear material in the generation of

electric power and the storage of

nuclear waste from power generation,

weapons' complexes, and medical and

commercial processes are all potential

sources of nuclear material that could

be accidentally released into the

atmosphere. Consequently, a central

theme within the DOE community has

been to protect public health, safety,

and the environment on and around

DOE facilities. Therefore, DOE has

required and supported on-site meteorological monitoring, directed the

development of emergency response

capabilities at DOE facilities, funded

research on the modeling of the transport, dispersion, deposition, and resuspension of radioactive and toxic materials, and advocated on-site weather

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE PROGRAMS

For nearly 50 years, the Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessors, the Atomic Energy Commission and the

Energy Research and Development Administration have supported meteorological operations and atmospheric research

at the DOE field offices. The need for meteorological services began with the development, fabrication, and testing of

atomic weapons and the national security and safety issues associated with them. In addition, environmental protection

legislation specifies requirements for meteorological services to protect public health and safety and the environment.

SECTION 3 DOE 95
96 DOE SECTION 3

forecasting services tailored specifically for the special operational and emergency management requirements at

each DOE facility. Much of the

research and most of the operational

support has been provided by the

atmospheric research programs at the

six major field offices directly

involved in national defense programs.

Over the years, these programs have

grown to address many environmental,

safety, and health issues. Due to the

complexity of these activities, it was

recognized that efforts should be made

to coordinate meteorological operations and research among the field

offices to enhance cost effectiveness.

Based on a need to facilitate more

coordination and cooperation among

the meteorological activities at the

DOE field offices, the DOE Meteorological Coordinating Council (DMCC)

was created in December 1994. The

mission of the council is to coordinate

meteorological support and research to

meet DOE objectives. The objectives

of the council are to: (1) promote costeffective support for all DOE facilities;

(2) plan for future needs, requirements,

and missions; (3) advocate awareness

of atmospheric science applications

and benefits to DOE; and (4) alleviate

the use of common methods, procedures, and standards. The council is

coordinated by a steering committee

consisting of DOE headquarters and

field element representatives and is

currently composed of headquarters

and field personnel and contractor

managers of DOE site meteorological

programs. Products of the DMCC

include analysis of meteorological

requirements embedded in DOE orders

and guidance, site meteorological program peer reviews, and, as needed,

customized technical assistance.

Planned products include a DOE meteorological resource's directory, an

updated meteorological requirement

analysis, site meteorological program

peer reviews, a DOE meteorological

skill's matrix, and a bimonthly, E-mail

newsletter.

The following narrative highlights

meteorological activities at several

DOE sites.

The Nevada Test Site (NTS) is managed by the Nevada Operations Office

(NV). The NTS has been the Nations'

underground nuclear weapons testing

facility and is now used to support the

sub-critical experiments and other

national defense missions of the

United States. The NTS occupies

1,350 square miles of south central

Nevada and is approximately 75 miles

northwest of Las Vegas. The topography of the NTS is complex with a system of dry lake beds and mountains.

Elevations range from nearly

2,700 feet above mean sea level (MSL)

to 7,600 feet MSL. The climate is arid.

Meteorological services are provided

to DOE/NV by components of the

Department of Commerce (DOC),

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA). The DOC

has had a presence on the NTS for

more than 40 years. During this time,

NOAA personnel have built a solid

technical reputation in meteorological

operations in the nuclear weapons testing arena. Presently, NOAA support is

provided by ARL, Special Operations

and Research Division (SORD).

SORD is recognized for expertise in

the transport, dispersion, and deposition of radioactive and toxic materials

and for developing a rapid emergency

response capability for the unlikely

occurrence of an accident resulting

from the release of radioactive or toxic

material into the atmosphere.

Both basic and applied research are

carried out on problems of mutual

interest to DOE and to NOAA.

Emphasis is on the maintenance of

meteorological support to national

defense projects and to the stewardship

of nuclear weapons. These capabilities

focus on those facets of meteorology

having a direct bearing on the transport, dispersion, deposition (fallout),

and resuspension of radioactive and/or

toxic materials. Other research

includes documentation and study of

extreme precipitation events, desert

thunderstorms, cloud-to-ground lightning, and environmental issues related

to air quality and visibility.

ARL/SORD provides full meteorological support to all DOE/NV operations on and off the NTS. Meteorology

plays a key role in environmental, safety, and health responsibilities of

DOE/NV. The SORD staff is responsible for conducting a modern program

in support of nuclear and non-nuclear

projects authorized by DOE/NV.

Furthermore, the mission of SORD

involves technical support to the emergency preparedness and response

activities of DOE/NV, operation of a

comprehensive meteorological monitoring program for the NTS, and provision of meteorological and climatological services required in support of

DOE/NV and contractor programs at

the NTS and elsewhere, as necessary.

Personnel at SORD also consult with

senior scientists and engineers at the

DOE National Laboratories, NASA,

private contractors, EPA/EMSL,

USGS, USFS, and other NOAA laboratories.

The SORD meteorological monitoring network consists of twenty-four

10 meter (m) towers and two 30m towers. Wind speed and direction is measured at the 10m level on all the towers

and temperature and relative humidity

is sampled at the 2m level. Data from

these towers are transmitted via

microwave radio to a central processor

that checks the data, creates data files,

and archives the data every 15 minutes.

The data files are accessed by microcomputer to create graphics products

for operational use and for immediate

display at 15-minute intervals. SORD

also operates two 915 MHz vertical

profilers on the NTS, one located in the

middle of Yucca Flat and one at the

Hazardous Materials Spill Center in

Frenchman Flat. In addition, a NOAA

full surface radiation budget

(SURFRAD) station is operated and

maintained at the Desert Rock

Meteorological Observatory (DRA)
SECTION 3 DOE 97

located in the southern part of the NTS.

Upper-air soundings are taken twice

daily, at 00 and 12 Universal

Coordinated Time (UTC) from the

DRA facility. SORD also operates

mobile upper-air sounding systems and

mobile pilot-balloon (PIBAL) equipment to support special projects requiring winds aloft data in real-time.

Large-scale meteorological data and

NCEP weather forecast products are

received via AFOS. SORD is the DOE

node for distribution of NOAA/NCEP

AFOS products. Other weather products supplied to DOE contractors, the

National Laboratories, the NWS, and

Nellis AFB include real-time cloud-toground lightning flash graphical products and local forecast products.

SORD provides meteorological

monitoring support and project-specific weather forecast services to the

Nuclear Emergency Search Team

(NEST), the Federal Radiological

Monitoring and Assessment Center

(FRMAC), and the Accident Response

Group (ARG) activities. Monitoring

support includes surface and upper-air

data collection and analysis. Weather

forecast service entails maintaining a

constant weather watch for conditions

that might impact NEST/FRMAC/ARG

operations and personnel, issuing sitespecific mesoscale wind, stability, and

weather forecasts, aviation weather

support, and providing consultation to

the On-Scene Commander and to

National Laboratories personnel.

SORD maintains a web site

(www.sordx.nv.doe.gov) that includes

graphical products that display current

meteorological conditions on the NTS.

The Idaho National Engineering and

Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is

managed by the Idaho Operations

Office and is on 890 square miles of

rolling, arid terrain in southeastern

Idaho at the foot of the Lost River and

Lemhi mountain ranges.

Meteorological services and supporting research are provided by ARL's

Field Research Division (FRD) with

the mission to support emergency

response exercises and INEEL operations with meteorological data, weather predictions, dispersion calculations,

and consultation. ARL/FRD designs,

arranges, and conducts field studies as

needed to evaluate the performance of

transport and dispersion models over

local, regional, and continental scales,

and to obtain high quality databases for

the model improvement. They are recognized for their unique field experimentation capabilities, for expertise in

conducting tracer studies, and for

using direct and remote sensing technologies in support of tracer experiments. 

To meet other mission requirements,

ARL/FRD operates a large meteorological monitoring network to characterize the meteorology and climatology

of the INEEL site. The network consists of 32 meteorological towers that

provide wind and temperature data.

The overall Meteorological Measurement Program is designed to provide

representative data for the INEEL area

to meet specific operational and potential emergency response situations.

Most towers are 15m tall; however,

three towers range from 45 to 67m in

height. All towers are instrumented at

multiple levels. Fourteen have relative

humidity, precipitation, and solar radiation sensors. Continuous wind and

temperature profiles are obtained from

a 915 MHZ Doppler wind profiler, a

Radio Acoustic Sounding System

(RASS), and a Doppler SODAR.

Wind profiles generally extend to

5,000 feet above ground; temperature

profiles extend to 1,500 feet. All meteorological data are quality-controlled

and archived for future use. Additional

use of this database is made in operational weather forecasts tailored to

meet INEEL and contractor requirements and to prepare climatological

summaries that are distributed to users.

The Lawrence Livermore National

Laboratory (LLNL) is located in a valley in California's Coast Range

Mountains about 25 miles east of

Oakland. LLNL covers approximately

two square miles and is operated by the

University of California for the DOE

Oakland Operations Office. Two

groups are involved in the atmospheric

sciences at LLNL: the Environmental

Protection Department (EPD) and the

Atmospheric Sciences Division (ASD).

EPD operates a 40m tower and supplies meteorological data for facility

operations, regulatory compliance, and

emergency response. Real-time and

historical data are available via the

World Wide Web (wwwerd.llnl.gov/metdat/).

Within the LLNL Earth and

Environmental Sciences Directorate,

ASD conducts research on climate and

weather processes on regional to global scales on the following issues:

(1) understanding the transport, diffusion, deposition, transformation, and

atmospheric effects of accidental

releases or pollutants; (2) developing

and testing models for the improved

representation of physical processes in

local- to global-scale atmospheric

models; (3) understanding the uptake

and removal of carbon dioxide emitted

through fossil fuel combustion by the

biosphere and oceans so that the

effects of future emissions may be

accurately predicted; (4) understanding

the role of pollutants from fossil fuel

emissions in determining greenhouse

gas and aerosol concentrations and climate forcing; (5) understanding and

predicting the extent to which stratospheric ozone may decrease because of

anthropogenic emissions; (6) understanding and quantifying the natural

variability of the climate system; and

(7) understanding and quantifying

interactions between the biosphere and

climate. 

These major efforts all stem from the

need to predict the global and regional

environment and its changing nature

over the next few decades, so that policy makers will have the information

needed for the formulation of rational

energy-use goals.

Two major long-term programs within ASD include the Program for
98 DOE SECTION 3

Climate Model Diagnosis and

Intercomparison (PCMDI) and ARAC.

PCMDI develops and distributes software tools to facilitate model diagnosis

and intercomparison, documents the

features of models that are in use by

the world climate community, and

archives extensive collections of

model output data. The PCMDI also

provides quality global observational

products for application as model validation data (www-pcmdi.llnl.gov/).

Since March 1979, LLNL has provided emergency response services via

the ARAC program. ARAC is a centralized federal resource responsible to

DOE, DOD, and other federal agencies

under the auspices of the Federal

Radiological Emergency Response

Plan (FRERP). ARAC's mission is to

deliver realistic, real-time, graphical,

dose and exposure assessments to

emergency decision makers to assist in

the protection of populations at risk for

releases of radiological and other hazardous material to the atmosphere.

ARAC supports all elements of the

DOE Emergency Preparedness and

Response Program, including the

NEST, ARG, FRMAC, and the

Radiological Assistance Program

(RAP). 

ARAC maintains and operates the

ARAC Emergency Operations Center

that consists of redundant computer

systems with uninterruptible power,

automated continuous worldwide

meteorological data acquisition,

detailed worldwide terrain and geographic mapping databases, and a suite

of three-dimensional, complex terrain,

atmospheric dispersion models prepared to assess explosions, fires, vents,

spills, or other releases of radiological

or hazardous material. The ARAC

Center is staffed by meteorologists and

computer technicians with 24-hour oncall response. Part of the ARAC

Program provides on-site and off-site

emergency response services to about

40 DOE and DOD facilities around the

United States via a dedicated Site

Workstation System linked to the

ARAC Center at LLNL. Each Site

Workstation also collects on-site meteorological data from one or more towers. The response time for the delivery

of an initial ARAC assessment is less

than 15 minutes for a computer-linked

site and 45-90 minutes for a non-computer-linked site. Since 1979, ARAC

has responded to over 80 real-world

events and conducted more than a

thousand exercises with supported

sites and agencies. 

More information on the ARAC program can be collected at: wwwep.es.llnl.gov/www-ep/atm/ARAC/arac.html

and an educational presentation of

some past ARAC responses are located

at air.llnl.gov. In FY 1998, ARAC

began replacing its entire emergency

response system with complete, stateof-the-art, high-resolution, terrain-following, variable-gridded, diagnostic,

meteorological and dispersion model

system including new user interfaces

and 3-D graphical displays. In addition, the system will include a relocatable prognostic model that provides

high-resolution 2-3 day forecasts in the

region of interest. 

The Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) is

home to four DOE sites: Oak Ridge

National Laboratory (ORNL), the Y-12

Plant, the East Tennessee Technology

Park (ETTP, formerly K-25 Site), and

the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and

Education (ORISE). Managed by the

Oak Ridge Operations Office (ORO),

the ORR encompasses nearly 100

square miles of hilly and heavily vegetated terrain in eastern Tennessee.

Meteorological network systems

which support day-to-day operations

are managed and operated at the three

main sites by Lockheed Martin Energy

Systems, Lockheed Martin Energy

Research, and Bechtel Jacobs

Company. These network systems

provide data that support environmental management (permitting, facility

siting and environmental impact

assessment), facility safety (safety

analyses), emergency management

(hazards and consequence assessment), operations (work planning), and

substantial research.

The meteorological data acquisition

program at the ETTP consists of two

main towers (60m and 30m), six 10m,

battery-powered supplemental towers,

a SODAR system, an automatic lightning detection system that captures

strike data from as far away as 100

nautical miles, a NEXRAD radar system and consoles, and a feed from The

Weather Channel. The Y-12 Plant has

two meteorological towers (60m and

100m) located at the east and west

ends of the site. ETTP and Y-12 Plant

meteorological data is fed into the

ORR Emergency Operations Center

(EOC) and at emergency control centers for hazard assessment, consequence assessment, and protective

action recommendations. The data

acquisition program at the ORNL consists of three (two 30m and one 100m)

meteorological towers.

Meteorological data is fed to an ORNL

central computer system for analysis

and dissemination. 

The NOAA Air Resources

Laboratory/Atmospheric Turbulence

and Diffusion Division (ARL/ATDD)

is located in Oak Ridge near the ORR.

ATDD's primary mission is atmospheric research. Substantial research programs at ARL/ATDD are undertaken

with the assistance of staff from

ORISE/Oak Ridge Associated

Universities (ORAU) and scientists

from other national laboratories and

organizations in the United States and

abroad. ARL/ATDD also works closely with the ORAU to enhance educational opportunities in atmospheric science. ARL/ATDD research attention is

focused on the physics of the lower

atmosphere, with special emphasis on

the processes contributing to atmospheric transport, dispersion, and airsurface exchange, and on the development and improvement of predictive

capabilities using the results of this

research. Many other projects are

underway, such as surface energy bal-
SECTION 3 DOE 99

ance and CO2 exchange studies and

long-term studies of CO2 exchange

aimed at process-level understanding.

Operationally, ARL/ATDD personnel

provide meteorological consultation

and supplemental data for air quality

analyses, environmental reports, and

hazard and consequence assessments.

Local climatological data are routinely

collected and distributed. Under

NOAA funding, ARL/ATDD operates

a regional network of 15 towers ranging from the Cumberland mountains

(middle Tennessee) to the Smoky

Mountains on Tennessee's eastern border. Wind, temperature, and precipitation data are recovered every 15 minutes by telemetry and made available

to users.

The DOE Kirtland Area Office manages Sandia National Laboratory

(SNL). SNL is located between the

Rio Grande Valley and Manzano

Mountains adjacent to Albuquerque,

New Mexico, and covers approximately 80 square miles of flat to mountainous arid terrain. Meteorological programs at SNL/NM include both support and research activities.

Meteorological services and support

are provided through the

Environmental Operations Center in

the Laboratory Services Division. The

mission is to provide meteorological

support for various operations including: emergency response, environmental surveillance and characterization, and regulatory compliance. The

monitoring network consists of six

10m and two 60m towers used to

measure (1) wind speed and direction

and (2) temperature and relative

humidity. There are also three precipitation gages, two barometric pressure

sensors, and one solar radiation pyranometer in the network.

Key research activities are provided

through the Energy and Critical

Infrastructure Center in the Energy,

Information, and Technology Division.

SNL/NM scientists are involved in the

ARM program and the Surface Heat

Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA).

The ARM project is a combined measurement and modeling program. The

goal is to gain a better understanding

of clouds and their effect on atmospheric radiation with the final goal of

developing better climate models. The

SHEBA program addresses the interaction of the surface energy balance,

atmospheric radiation, and clouds over

the Arctic Ocean.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

(LANL), operated by the University of

California, under the responsibility of

the Albuquerque Operations Office, is

spread across 43 square miles

(112 km2) of the Pajarito Plateau at the

foot of the Jemez Mountains that

extend up to around 900m above the

plateau. LANL is about 30 miles

northwest of Santa Fe in north-central

New Mexico. The Pajarito Plateau

slopes to the east-southeast, dropping

400m across the laboratory, with

canyons and mesas running along the

slope of the plateau. The broad Rio

Grande Valley lies to the east of the

laboratory. Los Alamos has a semiarid, temperate, mountain climate.

The operational meteorological program at Los Alamos operates a network of six towers (ranging in height

from 23m to 92m), a monostatic

Doppler SODAR, and three supplemental precipitation stations. Four of

the towers are located on the Pajarito

Plateau and are used to drive a diagnostic wind field for the program's

plume modeling capability; a fifth

tower is located in Los Alamos Canyon

to give information on the larger

canyons in the area; and a sixth tower

was recently erected on top of Pajarito

Mountain to measure ambient conditions. The SODAR gives information

on winds up to the level of the Pajarito

Mountain tower.

More than 100 instruments, consisting of over 20 different types of sensors, are used to collect data throughout the network. Variables measured

by the program can be grouped into the

categories of wind, SODAR-derived

wind, atmospheric state, precipitationrelated, radiative fluxes, eddy heat

fluxes, subsurface measurements, and

fuel moisture. Data collected by the

network are checked for quality before

their archival; raw data and real-time

displays of graphs and tables are made

available via the Internet.

The LANL Air Quality Group provides regulatory and environmental

surveillance leadership and services to

meet LANL air quality obligations and

public assurance needs. The group

develops and implements programs to

ensure and address institutional compliance with state and federal laws

related to air quality regulations, DOE

orders for emergency management, air

quality surveillance, dose assessment

activities, and community concerns

related to air quality issues. The group

takes a proactive approach to managing air emissions by providing continuous air monitoring and measurement

of external penetrating radiation onsite and off-site, coordinating LANL

activities to ensure full compliance

with air emission regulations, providing monitoring and modeling for emergency response, and assisting operating groups in developing and implementing new methods and systems to

reduce emissions to as low as reasonably achievable. The monitoring capabilities of the Air Quality Group are

supplemented by the field team within

the Atmospheric and Climate Sciences

Group, which operates various sensor

systems including a unique Raman

lidar system to obtain images of atmospheric water vapor distributions.

Research within the LANL

Atmospheric and Climate Sciences

Group supports DOE missions in both

the defense and civilian sectors, such

as work in the propagation of verylow-frequency sound ("infrasound")

waves. Modeling studies contribute to

understanding of propagation and, in

particular, sources of infrasound. Just

as it is possible to infer earthquake epicenters from seismic wave observations, infrasound sources can be
100 DOE SECTION 3

inferred from atmospheric observations. This work is an important component of monitoring compliance with

the proposed Comprehensive Test Ban

Treaty (CTBT). The CTBT work

involves a number of organizations

within the DOE and the DOD community, including interactions with other

DOE laboratories within the CTBT

R&D program. Operational issues

involve close work with the Air Force

Technical Applications Center (Patrick

AFB, Florida), the DOD organization

that handles monitoring systems. In

addition, several active international

collaborations with other infrasound

researchers are ongoing.

As part of LANL's Crisis Forecasting

Initiative, weather and fire behavior

models are being combined to predict

the progression of wildfire events.

This project requires the advanced

computational capabilities found at

LANL via the ASCI Program, and also

the combined modeling suite of the

Regional Atmospheric Modeling

System (RAMS), HIGRAD, and

FIRETEC, a very-high-resolution,

chemically interactive, fire prediction

code. Another example of this multimodel approach is part of the Transport

and Fate thrust area of the new (1997)

multi-laboratory DOE Chemical

Biological Non-Proliferation Program.

The group is developing a continuum

approach to simulating the spread of

potential toxins from the interior of

buildings out to street and building

complexes, then over an entire urban

region for a range of anti-terrorism

applications.

On global scales, research within the

LANL meteorological community

involves the study of climate change

and variability. A major project is the

development of a global coupled

ocean-atmosphere model sponsored by

the DOE Climate Change Prediction

Program. The global model being

developed consists of a Los Alamos

global ocean GCM (Parallel Ocean

Program (POP)), the Los Alamos seaice model (CICE), the NCAR

Community Climate Model (CCM3),

and a "flux coupler" to link the media

consistently. The two GCMs and the

CICE model exchange heat, momentum, and water mass across the air-sea

boundary. A 10-year synchronized

simulation revealed the synoptic

weather events, seasonal cycles, and

interannual variations. 

Observations related to understanding global climate are the focus of the

Tropical Western Pacific (TWP)

Program Office LANL, an element of

the DOE's ARM Program. The TWP

Program Office is responsible for the

development and operation of the

TWP CART locale, a large expanse of

tropical ocean and maritime continent

lying roughly between 10o

S and 10oN

latitude and from 135oE to 150oW longitude. The maritime continent area is

largely in the southwest and the open

ocean area in the northeast of the

locale. Climatologically, the locale is

characterized by warm sea surface

temperatures, deep and frequent

atmospheric convection, high rain

rates, strong coupling between the

atmosphere and ocean, and substantial

variability associated with El NiñoSouthern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. Scientific questions that need to

be addressed in the TWP can be

grouped under three main headings:

(1) radiation budget and cloud forcing,

(2) water and energy budgets, and

(3) ocean-atmosphere interactions.

The program supports a variety of

operations at Los Alamos. The primary client of the program is the

Emergency Management Group, for

which the program provides a plume

modeling capability. Other clients use

the program's data for such activities as

operations and planning, hazard and

accident analyses, environmental studies, support for experiments, compliance, and documentation.

The Pantex Plant, under the responsibility of the Amarillo Area Office, is

America's only nuclear weapons

assembly and disassembly facility.

Located on the High Plains of the

Texas Panhandle, 17 miles northeast of

Amarillo, Pantex is centered on a

16,000 acre plot located in Carson

County. The Pantex Plant industrial

operations are conducted for the

Albuquerque Operations Office by a

management and operating contractor

(Mason & Hanger), the United States

Army Corps of Engineers (COE), and

SNL. The Pantex Plant is composed of

several functional areas including a

weapons assembly/disassembly area, a

weapons staging area, an area for

experimental explosive development, a

drinking water treatment plant, a sanitary waste water treatment facility, and

vehicle maintenance and administrative areas. Other functional areas

include an explosive test-firing facility,

a burning ground for burning explosive

materials, and areas for landfill and

storage.

The Environmental Protection

Department (EPD) performs the quality assurance for the meteorological

data captured by the one on-site tower.

EPD also maintains the climatology

database and acts as the subcontractor

technical representative for the

Meteorology and Calibration contract.

No activities are planned at Pantex for

FY 1999 as well as no plant-level,

meteorological support or services

through the Operations Center. There

are no current or projected supporting

research activities planned at Pantex. 

The Risk Management Group applies

the data collected from the meteorological

tower for Dispersion Analyses required

for the Basis for Interim Operations (BIO)

reports, other operations directives, and

other safety analyses. Work involving

meteorology for plume dispersal modeling is applied to the Plutonium Dispersal

Consequence Analysis for the BIO validation and upgrade.

The Savannah River Site (SRS) is

under the responsibility of the

Savannah River Operations Office

(SR) and operated by the

Westinghouse Savannah River

Company (WSRC). SRS is located in
SECTION 3 DOE 101

southwestern South Carolina, along

the banks of the Savannah River. The

SRS covers an area of approximately

300 square miles. It is heavily vegetated with evergreen trees and contains

many streams, a swamp, and a

2,700 acre reservoir built as a cooling

pond for the plant reactors. The topography of SRS is characterized by gently rolling forested hills with an adjacent flood plain near the Savannah

River. The climate at SRS is typical of

the southeastern United States with

long, hot and humid summers and

short mild winters. 

The Atmospheric Technologies

Group (ATG) of the Savannah River

Technology Center (SRTC) developed

the SRS meteorological monitoring

and modeling program in the early

1970's. This program supports the

SRS operations in the areas of emergency response consequence assessment, radiological and non-radiological air quality calculations for regulatory compliance, safety analyses, environmental impacts, engineering studies, environmental research and nonproliferation activities.

Meteorological activities include

daily weather forecasting services in

support of operations at SRS, with particular emphasis on severe weather

impacts. Local meteorological data

are obtained from a network of eight

200-foot meteorological observing

towers located near the major production sites. The instrumentation on

these towers include sensitive bi-directional vanes (bivanes), cup anemometers, resistance thermometers, and

lithium chloride humidity sensors.

Additional meteorological instrumentation is located at the Central

Climatology Facility located near the

geographical center of the site to measure precipitation, evaporation, barometric pressure, soil temperature, and

solar and long wave radiation. Central

Climatology includes a 200-foot tower

instrumented at four levels. Nearby, a

1,000 foot TV tower is instrumented at

seven levels. A network of twelve

additional rain gages (that are read

daily) is located within SRS.

Additional local upper-air data are collected from three acoustic Doppler

radars, a Beukers rawinsonde system,

and an airsonde and tethersonde system. Portable towers are used for case

studies. 

A collaborative agreement with surrounding counties involves assisting

them to install and operate several

local meteorological towers at nearby

chemical plants. Data from these towers are being integrated into the SRS

meteorological archiving and display

system the Weather Information and

Display System (WINDS). WINDS is

the primary consequence assessment

system for atmospheric and hydrologic

releases from SRS operations. A suite

of atmospheric models linked to realtime site wide atmospheric monitoring

provides transport, dispersion, and

consequence calculations for emergency response. An aqueous model is

also resident on WINDS and linked to

real-time stream flow monitors operated by the USGS. This model enables

consequence assessments for emergency response to site streams and the

Savannah River.

Regional, national, and international

meteorological data are received from

a commercial weather data provider

via satellite in real-time. Weather

workstations provide surface and

upper observations, analyzed and forecast weather parameter fields from the

NWS and the European Modeling

Center. These data are input into an

advanced, 3-dimensional, prognostic,

atmospheric modeling system for

applications locally in the southeastern

United States and globally. Satellite

and Doppler radar data are also available in near real-time.

The Rocky Flats Environmental

Technology Site (RFETS) is managed

by the Rocky Flats Operations Office

and is located approximately 16 miles

northwest of downtown Denver,

Colorado. One of DOE's smaller sites,

the facility occupies a 10 square mile

area along the foothills of the Rocky

Mountain Front Range.

Meteorological services are provided

by contractors under the Integrated

Site Contract for the facility. Merco,

Inc. conducts meteorological monitoring for general operations support to

the site.

A 61m meteorological tower at the

west end of the site continuously monitors meteorological conditions at surface, 10m, 25m, and 60m above

ground level. A back-up, 10m tower is

located nearby to ensure 100 percent

data recovery. The data are analyzed,

quality assured, and assembled into

data sets for use in atmospheric modeling, climatology, and other analyses at

the site. Data from the 61m and 10m

towers are also telemetered back to the

main site every 15 minutes for use in

emergency response modeling. The

Regional Atmospheric Response

Center conducts meteorological activities associated with emergency preparedness and response at the site. An

upper air remote sensing Sound

Detection and Ranging/Radio Acoustic

Sounding System (SODAR/RASS)

continuously monitors winds, temperatures, and atmospheric stability above

RFETS.

Through a cooperative agreement

with the Colorado Department of Public

Health and Environment, meteorological data are telemetered to the site from

five surface meteorological stations that

ring the site perimeter. Another cooperative agreement with NOAA provides

near real-time data from multiple monitoring sites throughout the Denver metropolitan area. These data are all

received, quality assured, and combined

into a 3-dimensional observation set for

emergency response modeling every 15

minutes, 24 hours per day.

The Regional Atmospheric Response

Center provides 24 hour consequence

assessment support for any unplanned

radiological or chemical releases from

the site. The center responds with customized weather forecasts, plume projections, and dose modeling results
102 DOE SECTION 3

that lead to event classifications and

protective actions for on-site and offsite populations. The Regional

Atmospheric Response Center also

conducts specialized consequence

assessments in support of emergency

preparedness hazards assessments and

risk assessments for RFETS. Weather

forecasts are provided for severe

weather events, such as winter storms,

wind storms, and severe thunderstorms.

A customized modeling system has

been developed and implemented at

RFETS to predict the path and impacts

from any radiological emergency at the

site. Called the Computer-Assisted

Protective Action Recommendation

System (CAPARS), the new capability

addresses the need for fast, accurate

plume predictions in a complex atmosphere.

CAPARS provides a variety of

plume, weather, hazard, and related

products with the accuracy and speed

needed for response to an emergency

at RFETS. Eleven major subsystems

work together to form the overall

CAPARS capability. The State of

Colorado has formally accepted the

CAPARS modeling system for emergency response and planning applications at RFETS. A specialized planning version of the CAPARS system

has been developed, implemented, and

applied for emergency planning at the

RFETS. Called the TRAC Risk

Assessment/Hazards Assessment

Model, the capability is designed to

support hazards and risk assessments

for RFETS and to form the basis for an

evaluation of the size and shape of the

Emergency Planning Zone surrounding RFETS.

Meteorological services to the

Richland Operations Office and the

Hanford Site has been provided for

more than 50 years with the last

32 years by Battelle's Pacific

Northwest National Laboratory

(PNNL). Not only has operational

support been provided, but also supporting research into atmospheric

processes has been a key part of

PNNL's support to DOE Richland.

The facility covers 560 square miles

within the arid and sparsely vegetated

Columbia River basin in southeastern

Washington. Key DOE research activities at PNNL's Atmospheric Sciences

and Global Change Resources

Department include GCRP, ARM, the

Atmospheric Chemistry Program

(ACP), the Core Carbon Dioxide

Research program, the Computer

Hardware Advanced Mathematics and

Model Physics (CHAMMP) program,

and the Mexico City Air Quality Study.

GCRP focuses on the study of basic

geophysical processes and on the

development of databases that are critical for understanding global and

regional climatic change. The ARM

program is designed to characterize

empirically the radiative processes in

the atmosphere with high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution and accuracy at four to six climatologically

important sites distributed worldwide.

The goal of the CHAMMP program is

to produce a climate modeling system

having 10,000 times the capacity of the

current generation of models and computers. In addition, carbon dioxide

emissions research is aimed at providing a scientific basis for forecasting

future emissions of carbon dioxide and

other radiatively important gases.

PNNL's Meteorological and Climatological Services Project (MSCP)

office provides meteorological monitoring and operational support. The

monitoring system consists of an array

of twenty-six 10m towers, three 60m

towers, and one 125m tower instrumented with temperature and wind

direction and speed sensors.

Atmospheric pressure and precipitation data are also collected. Data from

this network are transmitted via UHF

radio to a computer that decodes the

data and plots graphics products for

immediate display and use by Hanford

Meteorological Station personnel.

Other meteorological data are received

via the NWS/DOE AFOS network.

Meteorological services include emergency response functions, weather

forecasting for on-site operations and

special projects, and climatological

support. MSCP support to the Hanford

site includes: (1) extensive data acquisition via a site-wide meteorological

monitoring network, (2) weather forecasting services 24-hours/day Monday

through Friday, and 8-hours/day on

weekends and holidays, (3) hourly surface observations, and (6) hourly synoptic observations, and (4) monthly

and annual climatological data summaries, plus meteorological input to

annual environmental reports.

Brookhaven National Laboratory

(BNL), under the responsibility of the

Brookhaven Area Office, has been

active in both operational meteorology

and atmospheric sciences for the past

50 years. BNL is now managed by the

Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA)

which is a joint venture by Battelle

Memorial Institute Inc., The Research

Foundation of the State University of

New York at Stony Brook, and six

other core university partners.

Meteorological operations and

research cover a wide range of programs encompassing interpretive and

theoretical studies. BNL is located

near the geographical center of Long

Island, New York. Long Island is glacial in origin and, as a result, has sandy

soil, mostly gentle undulating contours, and a single water aquifer for the

entire island. Elevations vary between

20m and 35m. BNL's site is rectangular and approximately 5,200 acres in

area. Winds are predominantly southwesterly, and plume dispersion studies

show that it is essential to monitor

winds well beyond laboratory borders.

The NWS New York City Weather

Forecast Office is located at BNL.

This office has an umbrella of coverage that includes an estimated population of 17 million. Nearby, in

Bohemia, is the NWS Eastern

Regional Headquarters which administers a 12 state region

(Figure 3DOE1).
SECTION 3 DOE 103

The mesoscale meteorological measurements necessary for emergency

response are the responsibility of the

Meteorological Services Group, a support group under the Department of

Applied Science, Environmental

Biology and Instrumentation Division

(EBID). The Meteorological Services

Group maintains two meteorological

towers, 10m and 88m, and an instrument shelter. By integrating redundant

pairs of standard, approved meteorological sensors throughout the system,

an overall data availability of better

than 99 percent is achieved. The realtime data are merged into the laboratory emergency response network. A

database of 50 years (in digital format

since 1960), one of the longest continuous meteorological time series in the

United States, is archived and is available. A real-time monitoring network

with worldwide web access covers the

east end of Long Island. Coastal

weather stations at Smith Point and

Orient Point transmit data each minute.

Pollution-monitoring data buoys are

added during field programs.

The Meteorological Services Group

provides a locally tuned forecast twice

daily during normal working hours.

Weather forecasts and data are available by telephone or the Internet

(www.weather.bnl.gov). During severe

weather events, updates are given

every 3 hours and, in the case of a hazardous material or radiological release,

a member of the Meteorological

Services Group will assist the emergency coordinator with regular forecasts and information on local wind

fields and gustiness. Areas of meteorological research include: (1) instrumentation development for field studies of atmospheric constituents, air-sea

interaction, and laboratory experiments, (2) gaseous tracer studies of

atmospheric transport and dispersion,

(3) aerosol formation and behavior,

(4) atmospheric pollution studies,

(5) modeling of atmospheric chemical

reactions, (6) acid rain studies both in

the field and in the laboratory, (7) theoretical and observational studies of

radiative transfer and fluxes, and

(8) analysis of data and development

of parameterizations relevant to global

climate change.

The ARM Program provides the

stimulus for a wide range of climaterelated studies. The ARM ocean monitoring program is developing instrumentation and a broad ship- and buoybased observational network in the

tropical western Pacific Ocean. The

Atmospheric Chemistry Division is

concerned with aerosol sources, transport, and fate in the global atmosphere

and the overall, and little understood,

impact of aerosols on global climate

dynamics. The ARM External Data

Center is the center for collection,

archival, and dissemination of all climate-related data sets for the ARM

program. An exciting new effort in

radar meteorology focuses on algorithms for cloud detection and cloud

mapping using both the WSR-88D

radar network and research radars.

BNL is a site in the NASA Solar

Irradiance Network and continuous

shortwave absorption measurements

are made here. In a related NASA

study, oceanic aerosol optical depths

are measured and used to validate

absorption algorithms in the SeaWiFS

ocean color program. 

The Optical Remote Sensing group

within the Department of Advanced

Technology is presently modifying one

of its Raman lidar systems for vertical

Figure 3-DOE-1. Meteorological tower at Brookhaven National Laboratory

monitors near-surface dispersion of pollutants--plumes indicate wind blowing

in three directions at different heights above the ground.
104 DOE SECTION 3

profiling of carbon dioxide. The

Raman lidar instrument is a self-calibrating sensor which means that data

from a variety of locations in the world

can be compared. With the incorporation of a large (1.25m) antenna and

advanced filters and detectors, a vertical profile of CO2 concentration with a

precision of 1 ppm (atmospheric

mean = 370 ppm) and maximum

height of 2-3 km can be produced routinely. These profiles will support

model development and validation.

Importantly, comparison of CO2 concentrations collected throughout the

world and over time will prove invaluable in confirming adherence to the

Kyoto protocols.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

Bureau of Land Management is one

of five Federal Land Management

agencies which have centralized

Wildland fire weather operations at the

National Interagency Fire Center

(NIFC), Boise, Idaho. BLM's Initial

Attack Management System (IAMS)

was designed in the mid-1980's to provide real-time data access and modeling for the fire management organization. The IAMS requires considerable

dedicated telecommunications network for data distribution. In an effort

to reduce these inherent telecommunications costs, the BLM has moved to a

"web server" environment. This new

system is called the BLM Wildland

Fire Management Information Site

(WFMIS) (www.nifc.blm.gov).

Many of the capabilities that were centrally located in the old IAMS have

been moved to other web sites.

The principal inputs to WFMIS are

Remote Automatic Weather Station

(RAWS) and National Lightning

Detection Network (NLDN) information. Additional fire management

information is summarized and available at the Western Regional Climate

Center (www.wrcc.sage.dri.edu) and the

United States Forest Service Wildland

Fire Assessment System

(//svinet2.fs.fed.us/land/wfas/) web

sites.

The BLM's RAWS Program primarily collects meteorological data for fire

weather forecasting. In past years, the

network also provided considerable

support to non-fire entities and was

operated throughout the year.

However, with increased pressure on

operational dollars, the BLM Office of

Fire and Aviation Management has

decided to restructure its network.

Plans were to reduce the fire network

by about one-fourth in the western

states. However, after considerable

study and optimization, actual reductions have been about 15 percent. With

continued funding pressures, the

requirement to replace aging equipment and the considerable costs associated with maintaining such a large network, BLM Fire Management's strategy was to reduce the total number of

RAWS, move to a single station classification (all stations configured the

same), operate only during the traditional western fire season (RAWS no

longer maintained in winter months),

and to use any savings in operating

funds to replace aging equipment and

upgrade the remaining network.

However, once again, the expanded

use of Fire Managements RAWS data

set by other non-fire users has generated funding to permit year-round operation of the entire network. The BLM's

Resource Management and Oregon

O&C (West-Side) RAWS networks

will continue to operate and be supported as in the past. These networks

are much smaller and have specific

program requirements that differ from

fire management.

In 1997, the BLM began contracting

with a private vendor via the National

Weather Service (NWS) for lightning

location data. Data is received at the NIFC

in Boise, Idaho, and placed on the BLM

WFMIS for access by qualified users.

Current plans are to continue the operation

of the Alaska Automatic Lightning

Detection System as an independent government-owned and operated system.

The BLM's Remote Sensing Fire

Weather Support Unit at NIFC provides a full range of specialized management, maintenance, data, and support services for the BLM and numerous other government agencies. This

interagency staffed and funded facility

performs work under long-term interagency agreements with those agencies

within the government having similar

equipment and requirements. Staffing

levels within this group are being

adjusted to meet the overall interagency requirements.

In addition to the meteorological

monitoring BLM performs primarily to

support wildland fire management

activities, BLM also conducts site-specific climate monitoring at over 200

manual weather station locations on

the Public Lands in the eleven western

states and Alaska. The operation of

these sites ranges from seasonal to

annual measurements of precipitation,

temperature, soil moisture, and other

meteorological parameters necessary

to assess local climatic influences.

These data are primarily used for natural resources management and planning at the local level.

In 1991, the BLM Global Change

Research Program established five

monitoring sites in BLM wilderness

and wilderness study areas to establish

baseline conditions for assessment of

long-term ecosystem trends. A total of

20 sites were planned to be established

over the initial 5-year period. A standardized monitoring platform is operating at these sites and includes measurements of climate and atmospheric

chemistry.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR WEATHER PROGRAMS

The Department of the Interior's (DOI) Atmospheric Science activities are primarily research and, historically, have

been reported through the Subcommittee for Atmospheric Research. However, budgetary information for the Bureau

of Land Management's operational wildfire weather data collection system is reported in this Federal Plan. The narrative below describes the full-range of meteorological activity in the Interior Department.

SECTION 3 DOI 105
106 DOI SECTION 3

National Park Service

The National Park Service (NPS)

monitors air quality and visibility in

several national parks and monuments.

Gaseous pollutants data are collected

on continuous and integrated (24-hour)

bases. Surface meteorological data are

collected and analyzed for hourly averages. Precipitation chemistry is determined on week-long integrated rainfall

samples. Twenty-four hour, average

particle concentrations (mass, elemental analyses, some chemical constituent analyses) are measured twice

weekly. Atmospheric light extinction

is measured continuously and relayed

to a central location for analyses.

The NPS also conducts and contracts

research to develop and test air quality

models to assess long-range transport,

chemical transformation, and deposition of air pollutants. These models

are used to estimate source contributions to, and to identify source regions

responsible for, observed pollutant

loadings.

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological

Surveys (USGS or Survey) Water

Resources Division (WRD) collects

streamflow, precipitation, and other

climatological data for a number of

projects concerning rainfall/runoff,

water quality, and hydrologic processes. Currently, the Geological Survey

collects hydrometeorological data

from approximately 4,500 remote data

collection platforms (DCPs). The data

are transmitted to Wallops, Virginia,

via GOES and rebroadcast to a domestic communication satellite (DOMSAT). Data are received from the

DOMSAT by local readout ground stations (LRGS) procured by the

Geological Survey under a 1992 contract. The Survey currently operates

12 LRGS's which provide near realtime data to the Survey's computerized

National Water Information System. 

USGS/WRD is providing the NWS

real-time data that will help calibrate

the NEXRAD weather radar for precipitation analysis. WRD is operating

37 rainfall collection sites data in the

Susquehanna River Basin which provide hourly updates of precipitation.

This pilot program, started in 1997,

will continue with the objective of

identifying procedures for data collection and exchange, and developing a

model local agreement that can be used

by other NWS/USGS Offices in an

operational program.

The USGS is continuing a joint

research program with the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration

and the United States Department of

Agriculture to map snowpack water

equivalent or depth using satellite passive

microwave observations from the

Defense Meteorological Satellite

Program SSM/I sensor. The satellite

observations are being compared to

snowpack data from a variety of sources:

USDAs Natural Resources Conservation

Service automatic Snow Telemetry

(SNOTEL) sites; NWS sites; and grain

size, density, and stratigraphy observations by USGS field teams. The program

objective is to develop algorithms to

extract snow depth or water equivalent

information from the satellite observations for near real-time assessments and

for climatological studies using the 20

year satellite record. An algorithm has

been developed that combines the satellite observations with surface temperature measurements to account for changing snowpack grain size--a factor that

was not included in previous algorithms. 

As part of its glaciology program,

the Survey maintains a benchmark

program on three benchmark glaciers

representative of different climatic

zones of the western United States.

These benchmarks are in Washington,

on the south coast of Alaska, and in

the interior of Alaska. At each glacier,

the program measures the winter snow

accumulation, summer snow and ice

ablation, air temperature, and runoff in

the glacier basin. Analysis of this 36-

year long record is providing a greater

understanding of the climate variability and its effects on water resources in

the western United States.

The Survey's Geologic Division,

through the National Geomagnetic

Information Center (NGIC) in Golden,

Colorado, collects data on temporal

variations of the Earth's magnetic field

from a global network of over 70 geomagnetic observatories. These observatories (which include 13 operated

directly by USGS/NGIC) all belong to

the INTERMAGNET program. Under

INTERMAGNET, data from a global

network of geomagnetic observatories

are transmitted in near real-time via

satellites and computer links (email).

These collection and dissemination

points are called Geomagnetic

Information Nodes (GIN's). There are

5 GIN's located in Europe, North

America, and Asia. 

Magnetic field data are key inputs to

the National Space Environment

Forecast and Warning Program and to

the new interagency National Space

Weather Program. These data are used

for nowcasting, forecasting, and modeling of "space weather"--particularly

the effects of geomagnetic disturbances. These geomagnetic effects

include: satellite computer upsets and

early re-entry, disruption of radio communications, degradation of navigation

systems, such as GPS, and outages of

power distribution grids. The roles and

responsibilities of agencies participating in the National Space Environment

and Warning Program are detailed in

the "National Plan for Space

Environment Services and Supporting

Research, 1993-1997" (FCM-P10-

1993) which was prepared by the

OFCM Committee for Space

Environment Forecasting. 

The Survey participates in OFCMs

Working Group on Volcanic Ash

(WG/VA). This committee is preparing a National Framework for

Volcanic Ash Hazards to Aviation.

Through its Volcanic Hazards

Program, the Survey is responsible for

monitoring volcanoes in the United

States. Of the approximately 56 historically active volcanoes in the United

States, 44 are in Alaska. Prior to the
SECTION 3 DOI 107

past decade, the Alaskan volcanoes

have been largely unstudied. Despite

the low population density of the state,

Alaska's volcanoes underlie the heavily traveled air routes of the North

Pacific region.

The WG/VA has supported expansion of USGS monitoring activities in

the remote Aleutian chain of explosive

volcanoes. During FY 1996, USGS

and the Alaskan Volcano Observatory

(AVO) expanded its network of realtime seismic monitoring stations to 4

additional volcanoes in the Eastern

Aleutian Islands and the Western

Alaskan Peninsula. This expansion

enabled the AVO to place 10 volcanoes

under continuous, real-time surveillance. Data and information from the

AVO monitoring activities are integrated directly into the regional operational activities of the FAA, DOD, and

NWS to provide warnings for pilots

and aircraft operators in the Alaskan

region.

The Survey also carries out research

in past climate change, regional

hydrology, the carbon cycle, coastal

erosion, volcanic activity, and glaciology. As part of its glaciology program,

the Survey continues to measure the

winter snow accumulation, summer ice

ablation, and net balance on three glaciers representative of different climatic zones of the western United States--

one in Washington and two in Alaska.

The analysis of this 35-year long

record is providing a greater understanding of the climate variability in

the western United States. The Survey

collects precipitation samples in a

number of studies for the determination of atmospheric contribution to the

chemical constituent loads to runoff

and for defining the effect of atmospheric deposition on water quality and

the aquatic environment.

Bureau of Reclamation

The Bureau of Reclamation activities

requiring the collection and use of

meteorological data include water

scheduling, flood hydrology, irrigation

project management, and reservoir

operations as well as projects related to

hydroelectric energy resources. One

example of this is the Agricultural

Water Resources Decision Support

(AWARDS) system which integrates

high-resolution NEXRAD radar rainfall estimates, surface environmental

data, crop models, and quantitative

precipitation forecasts, with watershed

reservoir-canal systems and irrigation

district water distribution systems.

AWARDS provides operational support for: (1) early warnings to reduce

hydrologic risk for loss of property and

lives, (2) improved efficiency in canal

and reservoir operations, and

(3) improved efficiency in irrigation

scheduling for water conservation and

water quality.

Reclamation continues to develop a

prototype Snow Accumulation

Algorithm (SAA) for the recently

installed national network of about 160

Doppler weather radars. This development is a cooperative effort with primary support from the tri-agency

WSR-88D Operational Support

Facility in Norman, Oklahoma. The

prototype SAA has been successfully

field tested in real-time at NWS

Forecast Offices in Albany, New York,

Cleveland, Ohio, and Minneapolis,

Minnesota. The SAA continues to be

improved with data sets from all climatic regions in the nation which have

frequent snowfall.

Reclamation's NEXRAD research

team is also conducting cooperative

work with NOAA's Global Energy and

Water Cycle Expermiment (GEWEX)

Continental-Scale International Program

(GCIP). GEWEX is part of the World

Climate Research Program. This work

involves developing a correction

scheme for known SAA snowfall

under-estimation at far range caused

by the curvature of the earth and the

vertical profile of radar reflectivity.

Reflectivity during snowfall has maximum values near the ground. In addition, Reclamation and GCIP are cooperating on providing SAA snow water

equivalent (SWE) estimates to the

NOAA National Operational

Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center

which will incorporate them into their

overall scheme of SWE and snow

cover mapping for the nation. These

spatial snow distributions are used by

NWS River Forecast Centers and other

agencies as input to runoff and streamflow models. Therefore, improved

knowledge of SWE and snow cover

distributions, resulting from including

NEXRAD radar estimates, will provide more accurate steamflow forecasts. Improved forecasting will, in

turn, allow better management of

water resources.

Reclamation meteorologists are

working on modifying their snow

accumulation algorithm into a Rain

Accumulation Algorithm (RAA). This

algorithm will provide a means of realtime estimation of rain volumes and

rates over areas of particular interest.

For example, Reclamation water managers need real-time warnings concerning flash flooding into reservoirs

for which dam safety is a concern.

Another example is accurate estimation of rainfall onto irrigation districts

as part of the AWARDS system discussed earlier.

Multi-agency work on projecting

potential effects of climate change and

climate variability on western water

resources and Bureau operations is

continuing under collaborative work

with the GEWEX with NOAA's Office

of Global Programs, and the National

Centers for Environmental Prediction

(NCEP). The NWS River Forecast

Centers provide detailed streamflow

forecasts for Reclamation's operations.

Of note is the technology transfer

effort in the Central Valley Operations

Office in Sacramento, where a direct

workstation link to the NWS River

Forecast System and other hydrometeorological forecast products will provide Reclamation's water managers

with access to detailed products of

immediate value to water management

operations.
108 DOI SECTION 3

A Technology Advancement Study in

collaboration with NCEP and the

National Center for Atmospheric

Research are examining the utility of

mesoscale models for simulation and

prediction of extreme precipitation

events. These modeling efforts are

taking current technologies and applying them to very heavy precipitation

events to determine maximum precipitation and better understand limits of

extreme precipitation in watersheds

above Reclamation facilities for safety

of dams studies and early warning

applications.

Currently ,Reclamation's

HYDROMET system collects data

from approximately 400 hydrometeorological DCPs which transmit data in

the "real-time" through the GOES to

the Bureau's DRGS in Boise, Idaho.

AGRIMET is another network of 60

DCPs dedicated to analysis of crop

water use and water conservation in

the Pacific Northwest. Data collected

and products created in Boise are electronically transferred to other Bureau,

federal, and state offices. Funding for

Reclamation's Global Change

Response Program ended in the mid1990s. Reclamation's weather modification research program has not been

funded since 1989 except for reimbursable work.

Minerals Management Service

The Minerals Management Service's

(MMS) Environmental Studies

Program gathers offshore environmental data for use in the management of

offshore oil and gas resources.

Currently, MMS is funding the continued operation of five meteorological

buoys which transmit data via NOAA

satellites. Two buoys are located in the

Gulf of Mexico and two in the Pacific

Ocean off California. The MMS also

utilizes data from other buoys funded

by NOAA. The buoys collect air temperature, sea surface temperature, wind

direction, wind speed, wave height,

and wave spectrum data.

In FY 1998, the MMS started data

collection from two 915 MHz profilers

with Radio Acoustic Sounding System

capabilities to study the atmospheric

boundary layer over the Gulf of

Mexico. One profiler is located on a

platform about 6 miles off the central

Louisiana coast; the other is placed in

deeper waters about 130 kilometers

from shore. Hourly observations are

transmitted to the NWS via GOES

satellite on a real-time basis for use in

prognostic models. Data collection

started in June 1998 and will last for

three years. Each site also collects surface data on wind, temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure,

and sea surface temperature.

The MMS has requested the offshore

oil and gas industry to establish a network of meteorological stations in the

area around the Breton National

Wilderness Area in Louisiana to collect

data for air quality modeling. Surface

data will be collected from platforms

and buoys and one or two upper air

sites will be installed as well. This

effort is to be funded by industry and is

expected to start about January 2000.

Data will be collected for one year.

Bureau of Indian Affairs

The Bureau of Indian Affairs collects

atmospheric data to evaluate potentially irrigable Indian Trust lands in the

Southwest. The Bureau also shares

fire weather data with other Federal

agencies while participating in fire

weather forecasting at the National

Interagency Fire Center.
Stratospheric ozone depletion has

been recognized as a critical health and

environmental problem for more than a

decade. Under DOS leadership, the

United States worked to negotiate

international agreements to phase-out

ozone-depleting substances, which

should lead to a recovery of the ozone

layer in the next century. To date,

these treaties have been signed and ratified by more than 130 countries

(including the United States), representing 99 percent of the world's production of ozone depleting substances.

The IPCC, which is jointly sponsored by the World Meteorological

Organization (WMO) and the United

Nations Environment Program

(UNEP), held its first session in 1988.

This organization serves as a government forum to assess the state of scientific, technical, and economic information regarding climate change. The

IPCC is currently organized in three

working groups, examining: (1) the

state of the science; (2) impacts and

possible response strategies, including

mitigation and adaptation; and (3) economics and other cross-cutting issues.

The IPCC released its first assessment

report in 1990; supplementary reports

were released in 1992 and 1994. A full

second assessment report from each of

the working groups was scheduled for

publication in late 1995.

The Framework Convention on

Climate Change was negotiated beginning February 1991; the convention

was open for signature in Rio de

Janeiro at the Earth Summit in June

1992. As of April 1995, it had been

ratified by 129 countries, including the

United States. The first meeting of the

Conference of the Parties to the

Convention was held in Berlin in

March/April 1995. The convention

calls for all countries to develop inventories of their emissions and sinks of

greenhouse gases and calls upon developed countries to aim to return these

emissions to their 1990 levels by the

year 2000. At its first session, the conference decided to begin negotiations

on next steps under the convention to

elaborate policies and measures and to

set quantified limitation and reduction

objectives for greenhouse gases.

In addition to its primary role in the

fora listed above, DOS is active on the

Committee on Environment and

Natural Resources (CENR) of the

National Science and Technology

Council. The CENR was established

in 1993 to coordinate scientific

domestic programs. Furthermore,

while the emphasis on global environmental issues is a key new component

of the department's focus, traditional

DOS responsibilities, described in earlier federal plans, continue. These

include, but are not limited to, international aspects of food policy, disaster

warnings and assistance, WMO and

UNEP activities, and international

meteorological programs.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE WEATHER PROGRAMS

The Department of State (DOS) plays an active role in international climate/meteorological policy making as a result

of the growing worldwide concern with global environmental issues, including the depletion of the stratospheric ozone

layer and global warming. The role of DOS has principally revolved around preparation and negotiation of the United

States position in three fora: (1) the Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention and its Montreal Protocol on

Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, (2) the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); and (3) negotiation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

SECTION 3 DOS 109
Meteorological support to the EPA

Office of Research and Development,

the EPA Office of Air and Radiation,

the EPA Regional Offices, and to state

and local agencies includes: (1) development and application of air quality

dispersion models for pollution control, direct and indirect exposure

assessments, and strategy creation;

(2) preparation and performance of

dispersion studies and air quality

model evaluations; and (3) review of

meteorological aspects of environmental impact statements, state implementation plans, and variance requests.

Meteorological expertise and guidance

are also provided for the air quality

standard, modeling guideline, and policy development activities of the EPA.

In light of the 1990 Amendments to

the Clean Air Act, air quality models

and the manner in which they are used

are expected to evolve considerably

over the next few years. In the area of

pollutant deposition, the evaluation of

nitrogen, oxidant, sulfur, and aerosol

chemistries will clarify the roles of

model formulation, cloud processes,

radiative transfer, and air/surface

exchanges in air quality model predictions, leading to a better understanding

of model predictions relative to control

strategy assessments. Further development and evaluation of existing air

quality models will take place to

accommodate the inter-pollutant

effects resulting from the variety of

control programs that are now or may

be in place, such as the recent revisions

to the National Ambient Air Quality

Standards for ozone and particulate

pollution. These inter-pollutant effects

include trade-offs among controls on

ozone, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides,

and volatile organic compounds as

well as developing predictable methods of forecasting the impacts on various measures of air quality.

With respect to inhalable particulate

model development, dispersion models

are being enhanced to accurately predict aerosol growth from precursors

over regional and local transport distances. To assist in the evaluation of

the contribution of various sources to

regional air degradation, inert tracer

and tagged species numerical models

have been developed. These models

will introduce separate calculations for

inert or reactive chemical species emitted from a particular source or region.

The calculations will proceed to simulate transport and transformation to a

receptor point where the contribution

of the particular source could be isolated.

With respect to oxidant air quality

modeling, the roles of biogenic volatile

organic compounds, rural nitrogen

oxides, and vertical transport will be

elucidated. A better understanding will

be developed of the fundamental

aspects of the ozone non-attainment

problem, such as differences in urban

and rural rates of and/or sources of

photochemical production and the

interaction through transport of these

ozone precursors. Much of this

research will be performed under the

program entitled North American

Research Strategy on Tropospheric

Ozone (NARSTO).

Atmospheric research in the areas of

climate and climate change includes

ozone distribution in the global troposphere, the relationship between that

ozone distribution and climate (including temporal and spatial aspects), and

regional climate studies addressing the

interaction of climate with the biosphere. The climatology program

involves both analytical and statistical

climatology as well as support for

regional-scale climate model development. Climate change issues and their

feedbacks with the biosphere are being

stressed.

Research in human exposure modeling includes microenvironmental monitoring and modeling, and development of exposure assessment tools.

Microenvironmental algorithms are

being developed based on field data to

predict air quality in buildings,

attached garages, and street canyons.

These improved algorithms are then

incorporated into microenvironmental

simulation models for conducting

human exposure assessments within

enclosed spaces in which specific

human activities occur.

In addition to these major areas, dispersion models for inert, reactive and

toxic pollutants are under development

and evaluation on all temporal and spatial scales, e.g., indoor, urban, complex

terrain, mesoscale, and regional. Other

efforts include construction and application of air pollution climatologies;

modeling of agricultural pesticide

spray drift and of fugitive particles

from surface coal mines; modeling of

trace metal deposition to the Great

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCYWEATHER PROGRAMS

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for working with state, local, and other federal government

agencies to provide user-appropriate and scientifically credible air quality meteorological programs to support regulatory applications. Applied research and meteorological support are furnished primarily by the EPA National Exposure

Research Laboratory and the EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, both located in Research Triangle Park,

North Carolina. This activity is provided through interagency agreements with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA), which provides approximately 50 research meteorologists to the EPA.

SECTION 3 EPA 111
112 EPA SECTION 3

Lakes, nutrient deposition to

Chesapeake Bay, and mercury deposition to the Florida Everglades; modeling of accidental releases of toxic compounds forming dense gas clouds, and

of open burning/open detonation of

surplus military munitions; determination and description of pollutant effects

on atmospheric parameters; and conversely, determination of meteorological effects on air quality. Measurement

data obtained during field programs

and from wind tunnel and water channel/towing tank experiments in the

EPA Fluid Modeling Facility will be

used to continue development and

evaluation of these models in the

FY 2000-2001 period, along with

developing models for pollutant dispersion around natural and man-made

obstacles.

EPA participation in the interagency

High Performance Computing and

Communications (HPCC) Program is

enabling increased efficiency in air

quality meteorological modeling

through research on parallel implementation of the Mesoscale

Meteorological Model (MM5) with the

subsequent transfer of these achieved

efficiencies to the user community.

The HPCC Program contributed to

development of the Models-3/

Community Multi-scale Air Quality

(CMAQ) modeling system, a flexible

environmental modeling and decision

support tool to deal with multiple

scales (urban to regional) and multiple

pollutants simultaneously. This developments facilitated a more comprehensive and cost effective "one atmosphere" approach to related single-stressor and multi-stressor human and

ecosystem problems. Models-3 provides a framework to support the constant evolution of environmental models to handle more complex issues,

such as fine particulates, visibility,

toxic pollutants, and multi-media (air

and water) environmental assessments

in an integrated manner.

Over the past twenty-five years,

numerous air quality simulation models have been developed to estimate

reductions of ambient air pollutants

resulting from potential emission control strategies. Separate models were

developed, for example, for tropospheric ozone and photochemical smog,

for acid deposition, and for fine particles. Distinct models also existed for

addressing urban scale problems and

the larger regional scale problems. It

has been recognized, however, that the

various pollutant regimes are closely

linked chemically and spatially in the

atmosphere. The principal purpose of

the Models-3/CMAQ project was to

develop a "one atmosphere" model that

integrates the major atmospheric pollution regimes in a multi-scale, multipollutant modeling system, with highlevel computational access by both scientific and air quality management

users for socio-economic applications

in community health assessments and

ecosystem sustainability studies.

After seven years of development,

Models-3/CMAQ was released in June

1998 for use by federal agencies,

states, industry, and academia. It is

also intended to serve as a community

framework for continual advancement

and use of environmental assessment

tools. Models-3/CMAQ is available

on 8mm Exabyte tapes accompanied

by an Installation and Operations

Manual, a User Manual, a Science

Document, and a Tutorial providing

step-by-step instructions for use of the

modeling capabilities. For more information, visit the Models-3 web site at

http://www.epa.gov/asmdnerl/models3/

The evolving Multimedia Integrated

Modeling System (MIMS) research

seeks to improve the environmental

management community's ability to

evaluate the impact of air quality and

watershed management practices, at

multiple scales, on stream and estuarine conditions. Toward this goal the

primary objectives are to: (1) develop

a prototype multi-scale integrated

modeling system with predictive meteorological capability for transport and

fate of nutrients and chemical stressors; (2) enable the use of remotely

sensed and monitored meteorological

and air quality data, and process-based

parameter estimation techniques in

multi-scale ecosystem assessment

models; and (3) develop an easy to use

computer-based problem solving enviFigure 3-EPA-1. This graphic depicts three-dimensional isosurfaces over the

eastern United States delineating pollutant concentrations that were mathematically simulated by Models-3/CMAQ during a daylight hour in July 1995. Air

concentrations of ozone are depicted in orange. Two precursors of ozone are also

shown, isoprene (yellow) from vegetation and oxides of nitrogen (blue) from

sources mainly related to human activities.
SECTION 3 EPA 113

ronment with ready access to data,

models, and integrated visualization

and analysis tools for use in exposurerisk assessments, ecosystem restoration design, and policy development

and refinement from regional to local

scales. The MIMS development

extends the open architecture approach

demonstrated in the Models-3/CMAQ

and provides a framework for selecting

meteorological, chemical, physical,

and biological process components to

build customized models for specific

problems/domains, and to facilitate

interaction among media specific models.

The EPA also maintains relations

with foreign countries to promote

exchange of research meteorologists

and research results pertaining to meteorological aspects of air pollution.

One of the most active areas of cooperative research is with Russia under

the 1972 Nixon-Podgorny Agreement

forming the US/USSR Joint

Committee on Cooperation in the Field

of Environmental Protection and under

the 1993 Gore-Chernomyrdin

Agreement forming the United

States/Russia Commission on Economic

and Technological Cooperation. Other

agreements are in place with Canada,

Japan, China, and Mexico, and with

several European countries under the

NATO Committee on Challenges of

Modern Society (CCMS).
In carrying out its role, FEMA works

with all of the agencies to assure that

the delivery of meteorology-related

information is conducted in keeping

with established goals and objectives.

As administrator of the National Flood

Insurance Program, FEMA publishes

Flood Insurance Rate Maps for all

flood-prone communities, which serve

as the official demarcation for flood

risk. FEMA also publishes hurricane

evacuation maps based on model simulation results from National Weather

Services's National Hurricane Center

for regions subject to hurricanes.

FEMA's priority interests with

OFCM are in supporting FEMA's predisaster initiatives (including Project

Impact) and in promoting standards

and procedures which will enhance the

ability of the Nation to mitigate and

recover from emergencies and disasters. These interests extend to national

standards for geographic information

systems (GIS) used for delivery of

meteorological products and services

by other agencies. FEMA also actively supports the OFCM-sponsored

Working Group for Post-Storm Data

Acquisition (WG/PSDA) and the

WG/PSDA's efforts to develop a

National Plan for Post-Storm Data

Acquisition to coordinate and support

the collection, by the federal agencies,

of perishable data after major storms.

These data have potential applications

in FEMA's risk analysis activities,

such as the Multi-Hazard Loss

Estimation Methodology (HAZUS).

The Program Assessment and

Outreach Division, Mitigation

Directorate is the principal contact

point within FEMA for meteorologically-related matters (www.fema.gov)

(Figure 3-FEMA-1).

FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

WEATHER PROGRAMS

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the central agency within the federal government responsible

for emergency preparedness training and exercises, mitigation, response, and recovery. Working closely with state and

local governments, FEMA funds and provides leadership for pre-disaster mitigation activities, emergency programs and

offers technical guidance and training. FEMA also coordinates federal disaster relief resources following catastrophic

disasters. These Presidentially-declared activities ensure a broad-based program to protect life and property and provide recovery assistance after a disaster. The agency was formed in 1979 by Presidential Executive Order 12127,

replacing five former agencies and consolidating the Nation's emergency-related programs, including meteorological

emergencies.

SECTION 3 FEMA 115

Figure 3-FEMA-1. FEMA Home page banner.
OPERATIONS

The goal of the National Aeronautics

and Space Administration (NASA)

operations program is to provide the

specialized meteorological data needed

by forecasters at Cape Canaveral Air

Station and the Spaceflight

Meteorology Group at Johnson Space

Center (JSC) to support the Space

Shuttle and Expendable Launch

Vehicle programs. The focus is on

detecting and forecasting the

mesoscale weather events that strongly

impact ground processing, launch, and

landing operations. The NASA

Headquarters Weather Office was

closed in FY 1998 and the responsibilities transferred to the Kennedy Space

Center (KSC) Weather Office.

This goal requires exploitation of the

latest technology. The Applied

Meteorology Unit (AMU), collocated

with the Air Force's Range Weather

Operations, provides a facility to evaluate and, if warranted, transition new

meteorological technology into operations. For instance, the AMU strives to

develop techniques and systems to

help predict and avoid the impacts of

KSC's frequent mesoscale summer

thunderstorms which endanger the

ground processing, launch, and landing

operations of the American Space

ProgramSpace Shuttle, DOD, and

commercial. Special attention has

been given to evaluating mesoscale

numerical models. The AMU functions under a joint NASA, Air Force,

and National Weather Service

Memorandum of Understanding.

Budget items are expected to remain

relatively stable between 1999 and

2000. Development of the new toxic

model system (Eastern Range (ER)

Dispersion Assessment System

(ERDAS)) was completed in March

1999. ERDAS will replace the current

ER/KSC two-dimensional toxic model

with a 4-D model. NASA was the contracting agency for ERDAS development; funding was sent to NASA/KSC

by Air Force. Operational implementation will occur slowly as the day to

day capabilities and limitations of

ERDAS are evaluated and documented. Development of the Advanced

Algorithm for the Lightning Detection

and Ranging (LDAR) system will finish in FY 1999. The new capability

was used to develop a cost-effective

method to transfer LDAR data to JSC.

Development of the Very Short

Baseline LDAR system has encountered technical challenges and will be

extended into FY 2000. After development, the technology will be transferred to a commercial firm which is

currently working under a Space Act

Agreement with NASA to commercialize LDAR. A new Airborne Field Mill

(ABFM) data gathering program is

under study at KSC. KSC has already

forwarded $100K to Marshall Space

Flight Center (MSFC) to build field

mills for the program. In FY 1999,

approximately $100K will be spent to

install the mills, certify the system, and

pay for flight hours to gather data at

Kwajalein in conjunction with a

NASA field experiment. Pending the

results of this field experiment, NASA

will consider a separate data gathering

program at KSC/Eastern Range. The

operations budget will decrease 25 percent in FY 2000 only because the

$1.1M renovation of the 500 foot

weather tower will have been completed. A major project to procure visibility sensors in the data sparse area west

of KSC was begun in FY 1999 and will

finish in FY 2000. Forecasts and

observations for KSC are provided by

Air Force meteorologists and contractors. KSC cost shares with the Air

Force the expense of operating and

maintaining (O&M) the Eastern

Range's extensive meteorological networkKSC contributes 40 percent. 

SUPPORTING RESEARCH

The supporting research activities are

sponsored by the NASA's Earth

Science Enterprise (ESE). The purpose of the ESE is to understand the

total Earth system and the effects of

natural and human-induced changes on

the global environment. Earth science

is pioneering the new interdisciplinary

field of research called Earth system

science, born of the recognition that

the Earth's land surface, oceans, atmosNATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

WEATHER PROGRAMS

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters Weather Support Office has continued to

improve NASA's weather support capabilities for both manned and unmanned space launch vehicles. It is expected that

these improvements will strengthen and enhance the information provided to the ground-based decision-makers and

astronaut observers to insure that NASA achieves the best operational posture for Space Shuttle launches and landings.

The goal of the operations program is to provide the specialized meteorological data needed by operational forecasters

at Cape Canaveral Air Station of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Johnson Space Center to support the Space Shuttle

program. The focus is on detecting and forecasting the mesoscale weather events which strongly impact Shuttle ground

processing, launches, and landing operations.

SECTION 3 NASA 117
118 NASA SECTION 3

phere, ice sheets and biota are both

dynamic and highly interactive. It is

an area of research with immense benefits to the nation, yielding new knowledge and tools for weather forecasting,

agriculture, water resource management, urban and land use planning, and

other areas of economic and environmental importance. In concert with

other agencies and the global research

community, Earth science is providing

the scientific foundation needed for the

complex policy choices that lie ahead

on the road to sustainable development. Earth science has established

three broad goals:

 Expand scientific knowledge of

the Earth system using NASA's

unique capabilities from the vantage points of space, aircraft and in

situ platforms

 Disseminate information about the

Earth system

 enable productive use of Earth science program science and technology

in the public and private sectors. 

The ESE has evolved from what was

previously called the Mission to Planet

Earth Enterprise. 

STRATEGY FOR ACHIEVING

GOALS

The pursuit of Earth system science

would be impractical without the continuous, global observations provided

by satellite-borne instruments. Earth

science comprises an integrated slate of

spacecraft and in situ measurement

capabilities; data and information management systems to acquire, process,

archive, and distribute global data sets;

and research and analysis projects to

convert data into new knowledge of the

Earth system. Numerous users in academia, industry, federal, state, and local

government tap this knowledge to produce products and services essential to

achieving sustainable development.

Earth science is NASA's contribution to

the United States Global Change

Research Program (USGCRP), an interagency effort to understand the processes and patterns of global change.

The Earth Observing System (EOS),

the centerpiece of Earth science, is a

program of multiple spacecraft (the

AM, PM, Chemistry, Landsat-7, and

follow-on and supporting technology)

and interdisciplinary science investigations to provide a data set of key

parameters needed to understand global climate change. The first EOS satellite launches will begin in 1999.

Preceding the EOS were a number of

individual satellite and Shuttle-based

missions which are helping to reveal

basic processes. The Upper

Atmosphere Research Satellite

(UARS), launched in 1991, collects

data on atmospheric chemistry. The

Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer

(TOMS) instruments, launched in

1978, 1991, and 1996, measure ozone

distribution and depletion. Two

TOMS instruments were launched in

1996, one on the Japanese Advanced

Earth Observing System (ADEOS)

mission and the other on a dedicated

United States Earth Probe. France and

the United States collaborated on the

Ocean Topography Experiment

(TOPEX/Poseidon), launched in 1992,

to study ocean topography and circulation. The NASA Scatterometer

(NSCAT) mapped ocean winds for one

year prior to an on-orbit failure of the

Japanese ADEOS-I. In 1997, the

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission

(TRMM) was launched to provide the

first-ever measurements of tropical

precipitation on a global scale.

Complementing EOS, under the

Earth Probes Program, will be a series

of small, rapid development Earth

System Science Pathfinder (ESSP)

missions to study emerging science

questions and to use innovative measurement techniques in support of EOS.

The first two ESSP missions,

Vegetation Canopy LIDAR (VCL) and

Gravity Recovery and Climate

Experiment (GRACE) are scheduled

for launch in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The next ESSP missions were

selected in December 1998. NASA

has chosen for development one primary and two alternate small spacecraft missions. The Pathfinder

Instruments for Cloud and Aerosol

Spaceborne Observations - Climatologie

Etendue des Nuages et des Aerosols

(PICASSO-CENA) mission, co-led by

NASA's Langley Research Center and

the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace,

Paris, France will be the next ESSP

mission scheduled for launch in 2003.

In addition, NASA has chosen two

additional missions, CloudSat and the

Volcanic Ash Mission (VOLCAM), for

further study at the present time.

Based on the study results, NASA may

select one of these missions for full

development and the other as the alternate mission. Continuing with the recommendation from the 1997 Earth

Science Biennial Review, a process is

currently under way to define concepts

for science and applications missions

in the post-2002 time frame. In developing its measurement/mission strategy, the ESE desires to reduce the risk

to overall program objectives from any

single mission failure by developing

smaller, less expensive missions and

implementing shorter development

cycles from mission definition to

launch. The objectives are to further

develop the scientific measurement

strategy implemented in the first series

of EOS satellite missions and to take

advantage of the latest instrument technologies. Shorter development times

will allow more flexible responses to

current and evolving scientific priorities and more effective uses of the latest technologies. In accordance with

this philosophy, the implementation of

each future mission in the ESE flight

program will be based on a competitive selection of instrument payloads

and implementation options. It is

important, under this new approach,

that instrument technology developments be conducted largely before the

relevant mission payload selection. A

science and applications-based flight

mission profile is indispensable to

guide these pre-mission technology

developments.
SECTION 3 NASA 119

Swath of AMPR data at 37.1GHz.

ER2 flight track begins at the western

end at 1402Z, and proceeds due east

ending at 1432. Note the excellent

correlation of rain banding in the western wall cloud and into the eye which

as this time was exhibiting a double

eyewall structure.

Airborne Rain Mapping Radar image

of Hurricane Bonnie from NASAs

DC-8.

Passive Microwave Images from multiple passes on NASAs ER-2 research aircraft.

NASA

Hurricane Research Hurricane Research

Activities Activities

Figure 3-NASA-1. NASA

Hurricane Research activities.
120 NASA SECTION 3

We have obtained a first round of

ideas from the science and applications

communities for post-2002 mission

concepts and are using them to build a

nominal multi-mission profile for

Earth observation satellite missions in

the 2003-2010 time frame.

The purposes of the multi-mission

profile are: 

 To guide science and application

research investments in preparation

of the missions;

 To guide ESE technology investment in preparation of the missions;

and

 To constitute the basis for discussion with potential commercial and

international partners having missions in that time frame for potential cost sharing, collaboration, and

partnerships. 

The ESE intends to refresh periodically this nominal mission profile

through similar consultations with the

Earth system science and applications

communities. We do not intend to create a 10-year queue of missions, but to

promote a theme or focused area at a

time leading to selection of one or two

missions in each cycle. 

Data from Earth science missions,

both current and future, will be captured, processed into useful information, and broadly distributed by the

EOS Data Information System (EOSDIS). EOSDIS will ensure that data

from these diverse missions remain

available in active archives for use by

current and future scientists. Since

these data are expected to find uses

well beyond the Earth science research

community, EOSDIS will ultimately

be accessible by environmental decision-makers, resource managers, commercial firms, social scientists and the

general academic community, educators, state, and local government-anyone who wants the information. 

Following the recommendation of

the National Research Council, NASA

is exploring the creation of a federation

of Earth science information partners

in academia, industry, and government

to broaden the participation in the creation and distribution of EOSDIS

information products. As a federation

pilot project, 24 organizations were

competitively selected in December

1997 to become Earth Science

Information Partners (ESIPs) to develop innovative science and applications

products. 

The intellectual capital behind Earth

science missions, and the key to generating new knowledge from them, is

vested in an active program of research

and analysis. Over 1,500 scientific

research tasks from nearly every

United States state are funded by the

Earth science research and analysis

program. Scientists from seventeen

other nations, funded by their own

countries and collaborating with

United States researchers, are also part

of the Earth science program. These

researchers develop Earth system models from Earth science data, conduct

laboratory and field experiments, run

aircraft campaigns, develop new

instruments, and, thus, expand the

frontier of our understanding of our

planet. ESE-funded scientists are recognized as world leaders in their fields,

as exemplified by the award of the

1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry to the

two scientists who investigated the

threat of cholorfluorocarbons to upper

atmospheric ozone. The research and

analysis program is also the basis for

generation of application pilot programs that enable universities, commercial firms, and state and local governments to turn scientific understanding into economically valuable products and services. 

The first Earth Science Research

Plan was published in 1996. The plan

laid out a strategy for study in five

Earth system science areas of maturing

scientific understanding and significant societal importance: land-cover

and land use changes; short-term climate events, natural hazards research

and applications; long-term climate

change research; and atmospheric

ozone research. The plan also outlined

some twenty related areas of research

which round out the Earth science contribution to Earth system science. 

The challenges of Earth System

Science, sustainable development, and

mitigation of risks to people, property

and the environment from natural disasters, require collaborative efforts

among a broad range of national and

international partners. As mentioned

above, the USGCRP coordinates

research among ten United States government agencies. NASA is by far the

largest partner in the USGCRP and

providing the bulk of USGCRP's

space-based observational needs.

NASA has extensive collaboration

with the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA) on short-term climate event

prediction. The ESE is the responsible

managing agent in NASA for the

development of NOAA's operational

environmental satellites. NOAA,

NASA, and the Department of Defense

(DOD) jointly work to achieve the

convergence of civilian and military

weather satellite systems. NASA collaborates with the United States

Geological Survey (USGS) on a range

of land surface, solid Earth and hydrology research projects. NASA, NOAA,

and USGS collaborate in the Landsat-7

program; NASA, DOD, and USGS are

working together on a third flight of

the Shuttle Radar Laboratory modified

to yield a digital terrain map of most of

the Earth's surface. NASA participates

in the World Climate Research

Program, the International

Geosphere/Biosphere Program, and

the ozone assessments of the World

Meteorological Organization. 

International cooperation is an essential element in the Earth science program. Earth science addresses global

issues and requires international

involvement in its implementation and

application. Acquiring and analyzing

the information necessary to address

the science questions is a bigger task

than a single nation can undertake.

Furthermore, the acceptance and use of
SECTION 3 NASA 121

the scientific knowledge in policy and

resource management decisions

around the world require the engagement of the international scientific

community. Global data and global

participation are needed to devise a

global response to environmental

change. In addition, integrating our

complementary science programs can

result in fiscal benefits to the NASA

program. For this reason, NASA has

sought and nurtured international partnerships spanning science, data and

information systems, and flight missions. Most of Earth science's satellite

missions have international participation, ranging from simple data sharing

agreements to joint missions involving

provision of instruments, spacecraft,

and launch services. In the past three

years, over 60 international agreements have been concluded and more

than 40 more are pending. In some

capacity, Earth science programs

involve international partners from

over 35 nations, including Argentina,

Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Brazil,

Canada, Chile, China, Denmark,

Egypt, France, Germany, India, Israel,

Italy, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, South

Africa, Ukraine, and others. 

While our mission, goals and objectives remain unchanged, our implementation approach continues to

evolve. We remain guided by key

over-arching Earth science questions

while we refine the contributing, lower

level questions in response to recent

science results. We are using these science questions to drive our technology

investment decisions. We have begun

the process of identifying post-2002

mission concepts based on how much a

given concept contributes to answering

a specific science question. 

During FY 2000, our first priority is

to ensure the success of the Landsat-7

and AM-1-1 missions and that a viable

data management system is in place to

support the data flow from these missions. We must also sustain support

for our other flagship EOS PM,

Chemistry, Ice, Cloud, and land

Elevation Satellite (ICESat) missions,

and sustain Earth Science System

Pathfinders (ESSPs) at a viable level. 

In addition to ensuring a robust science program, the FY 2000 budget initiates a vigorous Advanced

Technology program that supports

development of key technologies to

enable our future science missions. In

addition to our baseline technology

program that includes NMP,

Instrument Incubator and HPCC, an

Advanced Technology Initiative will

identify and invest in critical instrument, spacecraft and information system technologies. The ESE will lead

the way in the development of highly

capable, remote and in situ instruments

and the information system technologies needed to support coupled Earth

system models. Together, they will

enable affordable investigation and

broad understanding of the global

Earth system. 

The ESE will emphasize the development of information system architectures to increase the number of

users of Enterprise information from

hundreds to tens of thousands, with the

goal of providing easy access to global

information for science, education and

applications. Finally, ESE will work in

partnership with industry and operational organizations to develop the

capabilities and infrastructure to facilitate the transition of sustained measurements and information dissemination to commercial enterprises. 

ESE's technology strategy seeks to

leverage the entire range of technology

development programs offering benefits in cost, performance and timeliness

of future Earth science process and

monitoring campaigns. ESE's strategy

is to establish strong links to other

government programs in order to maximize mutual benefit to use open competitions for ESE-sponsored technology programs to attract the best ideas

and capabilities from the broad technology community, including industry

and academia.

Technology efforts will be made in

the following areas:

 Advanced instrument and measurement technologies for new and/or

lower cost scientific investigations;

 Cutting-edge technologies,

processes, techniques and engineering capabilities that reduce development and operations costs and

that support rapid implementation

of productive, economical, and

timely missions; 

 Advanced end-to-end mission

information system technologies,

technologies effecting the data flow

originating at the instrument detector through data archival, for collecting and disseminating information about the Earth system and

enabling the productive use of

Enterprise science and technology

in the public and private sectors. 

From FY 2000 on, ESE will increase

emphasis on a viable Applications,

Commercial and Education program

that will bridge our focused research

R&A and mission science investments

with the Commercial Remote Sensing

Program towards addressing key environmental problems of societal relevance. 

The EOS AM-1 will be launched in

1999. This mission will provide key

measurements that will significantly

contribute to our understanding of the

total Earth system. The AM-1 instrument complement will obtain information about the physical and radiative

properties of clouds, air-land and airsea exchanges of energy, carbon, and

water, measurements of trace gases,

and volcanology. 

Landsat-7 is also scheduled for launch in

1999. Landsat-7 will carry a single instrument, the Enhanced Thematic Mapper

Plus (ETM+), which will make high spatial resolution measurements of land surface and surrounding coastal regions. This

mission will provide data continuity with

previous Landsat measurements. Landsat

data is used for global change research,

regional environmental change studies,

and other civil and commercial purposes.
122 NASA SECTION 3

With the EOS main missions, such as

AM-1 and Landsat-7 that will be

launched in 1999, NASA will begin to

turn flight data into information. In

addition to the EOSDIS that will produce data products for a wide range of

users, NASA is engaging in a variety

of activities to extend the utility of

Earth Science data to a broader range

of users such as regional Earth science

applications centers, Earth science

information partners, and efforts are

under way to fuse science data, socioeconomic data and other data sets that

can be "geo-referenced" in readily

understandable data visualizations.

The first of two cooperative missions

with the Russian Space Agency (RSA),

the Meteor-3M(1) Stratospheric Gas

and Aerosol Experiment (SAGE III)

mission, is planned for launch in 1999.

This mission will collect global profiles of key gaseous species from the

troposphere to the mesosphere. The

science team will investigate spatial

and temporal variability and investigate the effects of aerosols and clouds

on the Earth's environment. The

Russian METEOR-3M(2) spacecraft is

planned to carry the last planned

TOMS into orbit in 2000, providing

continuity in the essential measurement of the total column of ozone in

the stratosphere. However, due to

Russian indications that they cannot

meet this launch date, NASA is exploring other options.

Five commercial data purchase contracts were awarded in 1998 through

the Commercial Remote Sensing

Program. Data products will be developed and delivered over the next two

years. 

The QuikScat spacecraft is ready for

launch and is awaiting a launch opportunity. The planned launch in

December 1998 was delayed pending

the results of the investigation into the

failure of a USAF Titan IV launch

vehicle earlier in 1998 and related

issues with the Titan II. QuikScat, carrying instruments to collect sea surface

wind data, will fill the gap in such critical data between ADEOS 1, which

failed in June 1997 after seven months

on-orbit, and ADEOS II. The availability of components of the Seawinds

instrument originally planned for

launch on Japan's ADEOS II was

accelerated to fly on QuikScat. At

present, QuikScat is scheduled for

launch in late April 1999. Japan has

yet to decide on the timing and form of

an ADEOS II mission (or missions),

but Earth Science still intends to fly a

Seawinds instrument in that context as

the follow-on instrument to QuikScat.

This will enable continuity of the

ocean winds data. In parallel to this

development effort, a data buy solicitation for ocean and wind vector data

was completed. 

Other planned Earth science launches include the Active Cavity

Radiometer Irradiance Monitor

Satellite (ACRIMSat) and the

Hyperspectral EO-1 mission in 1999.

The measurements to be made by

these and other future Earth science

missions as well as current on-orbit

missions provide data products that are

used extensively in the Earth science

program. These activities are providing an ever increasing scientific understanding of global environment and the

effects.

AVIATION WEATHER RESEARCH

NASA is performing research that

will substantially improve the display

of weather information in the cockpit,

will provide dramatic improvements in

synthetic vision (electronic vision aids

to see at night in poor visibility), turbulence detection and icing protection.

The research applies to commercial

aviation as well as general aviation.

Some of the research makes extensive

use of data from the Global Positioning

System (GPS) satellite network.

Aviation Safety Program

NASA's Aviation Safety Program is

aggressively pursuing three primary

areas:

 Aviation Weather Information

Distribution and Presentation: This

includes combining the inputs from

a variety of sources of weather data

into a convenient, cockpit display

that is simple and easy for the pilot

to comprehend. It will likely be a

multifunction flat panel display that

will display all forms of weather,

terrain and traffic hazards. The

Advanced Air Transport

Technology element is contributing

the early work here in hazard

avoidance displays and planning.

 Synthetic Vision in the Cockpit:

This is the development of electronically enhanced vision which

"fuses" the inputs from television,

infrared, Lidar, and radar sensors

into a single head-up-display

(HUD) the pilot will look through

as he or she looks out the window

(Figure 3-NASA-2). This seethrough HUD will make the world

look like a bright sunny day even

when the airplane is approaching a

fogged-in airport at midnight--one

that would be shut down under

today's operating rules.

 Turbulence Detection: This is the

develop-ment of aircraft-mounted,

forward looking turbulence detectors that look several kilometers

ahead of the aircraft using Lidar

(and perhaps radar) technology. A

suitable cockpit warning device

would alert pilots of impending

encounters. There is also work in

ground based detection.

NASA's Icing Research is pursuing a

large number of areas that affect aircraft in flight. Primary examples of

this effort are:

The development of icing training

videos and other materials will help

educate pilots on all aspects of aviation

icing.

 The development of improved

wind tunnel and analytical techniques to predict icing accumulation patterns on wings, tails and

inlets will help designers improve

future aircraft and engines.

 Forward looking, aircraft mounted

detectors will detect moisture laden
clouds miles ahead of the aircraft.

Adding air temperature, pressure

and humidity to the data received

from the sensors, on board computers will compute the icing potential

of the approaching cloud and will

display "high risk areas" to the pilot

in an easily read, color cockpit display.

 Sensors that measure the accumulated ice on aircraft in flight will

automatically activate, new, low

cost de-icing devices that will shed

the ice before the aircraft gets in

danger.

 The potential for satellite detection

of icing conditions is being investigated.

General Aviation

NASA's General Aviation element is

actively researching new, low power

and low cost pneumatic and electrical

ice removal technology. Also in development are low cost displays that

graphically show icing weather information so icing conditions can be

avoided during flight planning.

Terminal Area Productivity

NASA's Terminal Area Productivity

element is contributing via these areas:

 Wake vortex detection to improve

the efficiency of aircraft spacing.

 A heads up display that electronically displays the edges of taxiways

and runways, shows ground traffic

and marks clearance routes to gates

and/or runways. All this is overlaid

on the pilot's "real world" view out

the window while stereo headphones allow the pilot to hear

ground traffic from the direction

the other aircraft really are. This

will be a great aid to vision in poor

visibility--especially at unfamiliar

airports.

 A look down electronic display

shows a bird's eye view of the airport as if the pilot were looking at

the airport on a bright sunny day

from about 200 feet above the airport. The position of all runways,

taxiways, buildings and ground

traffic is clearly displayed--as is the

exact route the pilot is cleared to

take to get to the gate or the runway. Another huge aid to vision in

bad weather (Figure 3-NASA-3).

As with virtually all of NASA's aviation research, most of the research

mentioned above also helps pilots in

good weather too.

SECTION 3 NASA 123

Figure 3-NASA-3. NASAs Electronic

Moving Map (EMM) of airports.

Figure 3-NASA-2. View through NASA Head-up display (HUD).
Within the NRC, the Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation and the

Office of Nuclear Material Satefy and

Safeguards conducts reviews of facility siting, design, constructions, and

operation of nuclear facilities. These

reviews include consideration of meteorological factors. The NRC Office

for Analysis and Evaluation of

Operational Data and the NRC

Regional Offices assure that commitments by NRC applicants, permittees,

and licensees are carried out. In addition, these offices also conduct NRC

responses to nuclear facility emergencies. The Office of Nuclear

Regulatory Research develops guides,

criteria, and other standards related to

the protection of public health and

safety and the environment in the

licensing and operation of nuclear

facilities. This office also develops

and conducts confirmatory research

programs in support of activities of the

other offices and in support of rulemaking and standards activities.

The primary meteorological area in

which the NRC will have an interest

during FY 2000 and beyond is

improvements in the meteorological

capabilities of the NRC and the operators of nuclear facilities to cope with

emergencies involving the unplanned

releases of radioactive materials. The

NRC also maintains an interest in estimating the transport and dispersion of

airborne radioactive materials for use

in dose projections, and in the transport and dispersion of airborne, hazardous non-radioactive materials and

their potential effects on the safe operation of nuclear facilities. In addition,

the NRC maintains an interest in the

effects of extreme and severe meteorological events on the safe operation of

nuclear facilities.

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WEATHER PROGRAMS

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licenses and regulates all nuclear facilities subject to the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as amended. The licensing and operation of these nuclear facilities require the identification of meteorological and climatological conditions that can affect the safe operation of the facility, and that provide

input to the assessment of the radiological impacts of any airborne releases from the facility.

SECTION 3 NRC 125

Figure 3-NRC-1. Reactor vessels at the

Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, nuclear power

facilities. (BG&E photograph)
The Division of Atmospheric

Sciences manages NSFs basic atmospheric research support. This research

focuses on new and fundamental

knowledge needed to better understand

the atmosphere and related sciences

and to manage atmospheric science

programs including natural disaster

reduction, space weather, global

change, and air quality.

Natural Disaster Reduction. NSF

supports two interagency programs

under natural disaster reduction and

mitigation: the United States Weather

Research Program (USWRP) and the

National Space Weather Program

(NSWP). 

The USWRP is an interagency effort

to perform the research and technology

transfer needed to improve the delivery

of weather services to the country.

Participating agencies include NSF,

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA), National

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Navy's Office of

Naval Research (ONR). NSF supports

fundamental and applied research to

meet the USWRP objectives. Initial

foci are:

 better understanding and forecasting of hurricane track and intensity;

 better quantitative precipitation

forecasting;

 optimal use of observations in

numerical models; and 

 the societal/economic impacts of

improved weather information. 

In FY 1999, NSF jointly supported

with NOAA approximately 30 research

projects focused on the above topics.

The total research support for FY 1999

was $14.9 million. In FY 2000, support of this research is expected to

increase to $15.3 million. 

The objective of the NSWP is to perform the research and technology

transfer needed to improve the specification and forecasts of space weather

events that can cause disruption and

failure of space-borne and groundbased technological systems and can

endanger human health. Participating

agencies are: NSF, NASA, NOAA,

Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA), Department of Defense (DOD)

-Air Force and Navys ONR,

Department of Energy, and

Department of the Interior. The

FY 1999 shared budget was $14.0 million with NSF supplying $2.4 million

and DOD providing $0.3 million. The

total funding for FY 2000 is expected

to increase slightly to $14.3 million.

Global Change. Under the United

States Global Change Research

Program (USGCRP), NSF programs

support research and related activities

that advance fundamental understanding of dynamic physical, biological,

and socioeconomic systems as well as

interactions among those systems. In

addition to research on Earth system

processes and the consequences of

changes in those systems, NSF programs facilitate data acquisition and

data management activities necessary

for basic research on global change,

promote the enhancement of modeling

designed to improve representations of

Earth system interactions, and develop

advanced analytic methods to facilitate

fundamental research. NSF also supports fundamental research on the general processes used by governments

and other organizations to identify and

evaluate different types of policies for

mitigation, adaptation, and other

responses to changing global environmental conditions. The total NSF

FY 1999 USGCRP funding was

$181.7 million and in FY 2000 is

expected to increase to $187.5 million.

The Division of Atmospheric Sciences

USGCRP funding for FY 1999 was

$44.0 million with FY 2000 funding

expected to be $45.3 million.

Air Quality. NSF supported fundamental research in the area of air quality helps develop improved understanding of the sources, formation, and

atmospheric processing of ambient air

pollutants. Atmospheric oxidant

species (and their precursors), sulfur

dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon

monoxide, fine particles, and acid deposition (and its precursors) are important atmospheric constituents that

influence air quality. Field experiments, laboratory studies, instrumentation development, new methods of

chemical analysis, and improved models of atmospheric chemical transport

and depositional phenomena are examples of air quality research supported

by NSF. These categories provide scientific and technical input for management and control of atmospheric pollutant gases and particles. NSF funding

for FY 1999 was $1.5 million and is

expected to stay the same for FY 2000.

NOTE: NSF budget data is not captured in Tables 2.1-2.5.

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the Federal Government established to promote

and advance scientific and engineering progress. The NSF sponsors and funds scientific and engineering research and

education projects and supports cooperative research to gain new understanding of the behavior of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. NSF does not itself conduct research but funds research performed by scientists at universities and

other entities. In addition, NSF provides support for the maintenance and operation of the National Center for

Atmospheric Research (NCAR) which is devoted to large-scale atmospheric research projects conducted in cooperation

with universities and other federal, state and/or local organizations. 

SECTION 3-NSF-127
APPENDIX A

MISSION AND STAFFING OF THE

OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL COORDINATOR FOR METEOROLOGY

The mission of the OFCM is to

ensure the effective use of federal

meteorological resources by leading

the systematic coordination of operational weather requirements and services, and supporting research, among

the federal agencies. To discharge its

mission, OFCM has has meshed its

objectives with the objectives of the

agencies that provide the services and

perform the research. 

These objectives include:

 Documenting agency programs and

activities in a series of national

plans and reports that enable agencies to revise/adjust their individual

ongoing programs and provide a

means for communicating new

ideas and approaches to fulfill

requirements.

 Providing structure and programs

to promote continuity in the development and coordination of interagency plans and procedures for

meteorological services and support research activities.

 Preparing analyses, summaries, or

evaluations of agency meteorological programs and plans that provide

a factual basis for the Executive

and Legislative branches to make

appropriate decisions related to the

allocation of funds.

 Reviewing federal weather programs and federal requirements for

meteorological services and supporting research. This review may

suggest additions or revisions to

current or proposed programs, or

identify opportunities for improved

efficiency, reliability, or cost avoidance through coordinated actions or

integrated programs.

DOC currently has ten positions

assigned to OFCM. DOC also provides administrative support to OFCM

and approximately one-half of

OFCMs annual operating budget. The

Department of Defense (DOD) currently provides two senior staff officers--one Air Force and one Navy--and

contributes approximately one-fourth

of the annual operating budget. The

Department of Transportation (DOT)

Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA) provides one professional staff

member and also provides approximately one-fourth of the annual operating budget. These three agency representatives are designated Assistant

Federal Coordinators for liaison to

their respective agencies. In all, 13

meteorologists, oceanographers, physical scientists, and administrative and

computer-support personnel are

assigned to the OFCM staff.

BASIS FOR FEDERAL COORDINATION PROCESS

In 1963, Congress and the Executive Office of the President expressed concern about the adequacy of coordination of

federal meteorological activities. In response, Congress directed in Section 304 of Public Law 87-843--the

Appropriations Act for State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies--that the Bureau of the Budget prepare an annual horizontal budget for all meteorological programs in the federal agencies.

The Bureau of the Budget (now the Office of Management and Budget) issued a report entitled "Survey of Federal

Meteorological Activities" (1963). The report described each agency's program in some detail, particularly its operational services, and detailed the relationship between the programs of the various agencies. The report revealed close

cooperation but little evidence of systematic coordination. Based on this study, the Bureau of the Budget issued a set

of ground rules to be followed in the coordination process. It established a permanent general philosophy for assignment and assessment of agency roles in the field of meteorology and set certain goals to be achieved by the coordination process. The Bureau of the Budget tasked the Department of Commerce (DOC) to establish the coordinating mechanism in concert with the other federal agencies. It also reaffirmed the concept of having a central agency--the

DOC--responsible for providing common meteorological facilities and services and clarified the responsibilities of

other agencies for providing meteorological services specific to their own needs.

The implementation of these directives by DOC led to the creation of the Office of the Federal Coordinator for

Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (OFCM) which operates with policy guidance from the Federal

Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research. The principal work in the coordination of meteorological activities and in the preparation and maintenance of federal plans is accomplished by the OFCM staff with the

advice and assistance of the Interdepartmental Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research, and

over 30 program councils, committees, and working groups.

FEDERAL COORDINATION AND PLANNING

APPENDIX A 129
130 APPENDIX A

YEAR 2000 (Y2K) COMPUTER

PROBLEM

The Office of the Federal Coordinator

for Meteorology formed an interagency

Special Action Group (SAG) to develop a

test plan and conduct end-to-end testing

for key Y2K failure dates. In addition to

the SAG members (NOAA, Navy, Air

Force, and FAA, Canada, various national

laboratories, and members of the private

sector also participated in the testing. Test

systems performed correct date rollovers

and continued normal operations; seeded

and simulated operational data were correctly exchanged; models and applications

ran as expected; and a number of Y2K

rollover data sets were captured for subsequent use. All tests were successfully

completed with no outstanding Y2K problems.

NATURAL DISASTER REDUCTION

On February 8-12, 1999, OFCM hosted

the 53rd Interdepartmental Hurricane

Conference (IHC) in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The IHC objectives were to: (1) build the

conference around the theme of natural

disaster reduction; (2) increase federal

agency participation; (3) include, for the

first time, members of the user community, specifically, the emergency management community; and (4) create a forum

(breakout sessions) for all conference participants to provide input/feedback into the

forecast and warning process. The conference was highly successful and the action

items from the breakout sessions, which

were structured after the natural disaster

reduction theme, will help shape the hurricane forecast and warning agenda into the

next century. Department of Energy

(DOE), Department of the Interior United

States Geological Service, Federal

Highway Administration, and USDAwere

first-time participants; DOT FAA, FEMA,

NASA, and United States Army Corps of

Engineers expanded their participation;

and 11 state and local emergency managers attended. Overall, conference attendance increased by 67 percent. The 54th

IHC is scheduled for February 14-18,

2000, in Houston, Texas.

The OFCM-sponsored Working Group

for Post-Storm Data Acquisition coordinated data acquisition efforts following

two natural disasters: Hurricane Georges

and the Oklahoma City tornado outbreak.

In support of the FEMA disaster response

team tasking, storm surge data was collected for Florida, Alabama, and

Mississippi following the landfall of

Hurricane Georges. Then, in the aftermath

of the May 3, 1999 Oklahoma City tornado outbreak, the working group provided

for aerial photographic support from the

Air Force's Civil Air Patrol. The Civil Air

Patrol support, which was negotiated by

the working group and documented in a

memorandum of understanding, has

proven to be both timely and very cost

effective. 

NOAAWEATHER RADIO

OFCM worked with the Associate

Administrator for the Office of

Government wide Policy, General

Services Administration (GSA) and his

staff to require the installation of NOAA

Weather Radios (NWR) in GSA-owned

and leased buildings and vehicles. Plans

are underway by GSAto include NWRs in

GSA-owned facilities and to negotiate the

inclusion of NWRs in leased facilities.

GSA, in consultation with the National

Weather Service and the National

Partnership for Reinventing Government,

is also negotiating with the automotive

industry to include NWR as an optional

feature for new cars and trucks.

WEATHER INFORMATION FOR

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION

OFCM worked very closely with the

FHWA Director of Operations and senior

staff to discuss coordination of weather

requirements for surface transportation.

On behalf of the Interdepartmental

Committee for Meteorological Services

and Supporting Research (ICMSSR),

OFCM formed a Joint Action Group for

Weather Information for Surface

Transportation (WIST) to focus on

The Federal Committee for

Meteorological Services and

Supporting Research (FCMSSR),

established in 1964, provides policylevel agency representation and guidance to the Federal Coordinator to

address agency differences that arise

during the coordination of meteorological activities and the preparation of

federal plans. The Under Secretary of

Commerce for Oceans and

Atmosphere, who is also the

Administrator of the National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA), serves as the FCMSSR Chair.

The 15 federal agencies that engage

in meteorological activities or have a

need for meteorological services are

represented on FCMSSR. The

FCMSSR membership includes:

DOC, DOD, DOT, the Departments of

Agriculture (USDA), Energy (DOE),

Interior (DOI), and State (DOS), and

the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA), Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA),

National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA), National

Science Foundation (NSF), National

Transportation Safety Board (NTSB),

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(NRC), the Office of Science and

Technology Policy (OSTP), and the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB).

HIGHLIGHTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1999

AND PLANS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000

FEDERAL COMMITTEE FOR METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES

AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH
APPENDIX A 131

requirements for surface transportation.

OFCM is planning a National Symposium

for WIST on November 30 - December 2,

1999, that will include participants from

federal agencies, state DOTs, urban transit

authorities, trade associations, and the private sector to address needs and requirements for WIST. A draft consolidated

requirements document for WIST will be

completed by next summer. 

REALIGNMENT OF COORDINATING

INFRASTRUCTURE

During FY1999, OFCM implemented a

restructuring of the interagency coordinating process which reduces the number of

groups and results in a better fit with agencies' perspectives and 21st Century focus

areas and priorities. Under the restructuring, the FCMSSR and ICMSSR continue

to provide policy and program guidance to

OFCM on the most important cross-cutting issues and support for those initiatives

where the end value has a clear societal

benefit. The National Space Weather and

National Aviation Weather Program

Councils remain the same. The standing

committees become: Environmental

Services, Operations and Research Needs;

Climate Monitoring and Services;

Operational Processing Centers;

Integrated Observing Systems;

Environmental Information Systems and

Communications; and Cooperative

Research. Working Groups were reduced

in number and cover broader areas; Joint

Action Groups are established for limited

periods of time to focus on specific issues.

Implementation included identifying

Chairpersons and members for OFCM's

standing committees, Working Groups,

and Joint Action Groups to get stronger

participation from many agencies; preparing Terms of References for each group;

identifying important issues; and arranging for meetings of the interagency groups.

The expanded responsibilities of the

office related to the recently approved

changes to OFCM's interagency coordinating structure include high pay-off areas

such as natural disaster reduction, aviation

safety, urban meteorology and air quality,

marine and ocean environmental services,

weather support to surface transportation,

climate services, the Year 2000 computer

problem, radio spectrum policy, information dissemination technologies, integrated observing systems, and ensuring a

long-term climate record.

AVIATION WEATHER SERVICES

The National Aviation Weather Program

Strategic Plan presents a joint vision of

what the National Aviation Weather

System should be in the future. The goals

of this vision include the evolution of a

system where the number of aviation

weather-related accidents is as close to

zero as possible and where the number of

delays caused by adverse weather is greatly reduced. The Strategic Plan addresses

aviation weather planning and leveraging

in terms of improving weather information, enhancing abilities of decision makers, improving institutional arrangements,

and encouraging directed, disciplined

research. During FY 1999, OFCM aviation groups prepared a National Aviation

Weather Initiatives document which follows the Strategic Plan and defines agency

roles in a series of service packages which

address areas such as in-flight icing, turbulence, and microbursts and windshear.

Private sector input to the Initiatives

Document was obtained through an earlier OFCM-hosted meeting at which representatives from airlines and aviation associations commented on the initiatives and

work being done to achieve a safer and

more efficient National Airspace System.

The Joint Action Group for Aviation

Weather is now focusing on Tier III and

Tier IV of the strategic planning process,

which includes detailed design and cost

consideration for each initiative. OFCM

also continued efforts concerning volcanic

ash and expects to publish A National

Framework for Volcanic Ash Hazards to

Aviation during FY 2000. 

Since training is recognized as an

important contributor to accident reduction, OFCM has continued its participation

in the Cooperative Program for

Operational Meteorology, Education and

Training (COMET) aviation training

alliance with membership on the Aviation

Steering Committee and the Joint Working

Group. OFCM hosted a Joint Working

Group meeting in November 1998.

OFCM also participated in meetings of the

Aviation Steering Committee in Boulder,

Colorado, in January and June 1999, and

will continue to participate during

FY2000. Primary sponsors for this activity include NASA, NWS, OFCM, FAA,

and DOD. 

SPACE WEATHER

Space weather refers to conditions on

the sun and in the solar wind, magnetosphere, and ionosphere/thermosphere that

can influence the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based

technological systems, and endanger

human life. Space weather storms can

cause disruptions to satellites, communications, navigation, and electric power distribution grids. The vision of the National

Space Weather Program, which is managed by an OFCM program council, is to

create an active, synergistic, interagency,

single-minded system to achieve the goal

of timely, accurate, and reliable space

environment observations, specifications,

and forecasts in the next ten years. The

National Space Weather Program

Strategic Plan outlined a strategy to guide

the planning and implementation of the

National Space Weather Program. During

FY 1999, OFCM space weather groups

made substantial progress in preparing a

second edition of the National Space

Weather Program Implementation Plan.

The Implementation Plan will be published in early FY 2000. It follows the

Strategic Plan and provides detailed guidance and information on goals, timelines,

research requirements, agency participation, and program management. During

FY1999, OFCM also worked closely with

the Office of the National Security Space

Architect (NSSA) to integrate the NSSA's

space weather architecture and recommendations into the National Space

Weather Program.
132 APPENDIX A

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S

METEOROLOGICAL

COORDINATING COUNCIL

During FY 1999, the OFCM continued

its close liaison with the DOEs

Meteorological Coordinating Council

(DMCC) whose mission is to coordinate

meteorological support and atmospheric

research to meet internal DOE objectives.

OFCM representatives attended the

October 1998 DMCC meeting and provided briefings on the OFCM organization

and structure as well as projects of mutual

interest. One such project is a new edition

of the Transport and Diffusion Model

Directory which was published during

FY 1999. 

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL/

NATIONALACADEMYOFSCIENCES

During FY 1999, OFCM continued its

mutually beneficial interactions with the

National Research Council/National

Academy of Sciences. OFCM's activities

in aviation weather have been influenced

by the earlier NRC Committee on

National Aviation Weather Services report

Aviation Weather Services - A Call for

Federal Leadership and Action. Staff

Directors of the NRC National Weather

Service Modernization Committee and

Board on Atmospheric Sciences and

Climate (BASC) attend OFCM's

FCMSSR and ICMSSR meetings. At its

December 1998 ICMSSR meeting, NRC

reports and recommendations were given

on the Future of the National Weather

Service Cooperative Observer Network

and The Atmospheric Sciences Entering

the Twenty-First Century, including the

recommendation that OFCM take a leadership role in developing a strategic viewpoint to shape an increasingly distributed

national structure for providing atmospheric information from a variety of governmental and private sector organizations. OFCM provided funding for and

participated in the BASC Summer Study

(June 29 - July 2, 1999, Woods Hole,

Massachusetts) on transition from

research to operations. OFCM and BASC

have also arranged to hold a joint

FCMSSR/BASC meeting. It will held

October 25, 1999, in the National

Academy of Sciences Building on

Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC.

AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL

SOCIETY

During FY 1999, OFCM joined fourteen leading environmental science and

service corporations in supporting undergraduate scholarships in the atmospheric

and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences. The scholarships, awarded for the

junior and senior years, are designed to

encourage outstanding undergraduates to

pursue careers in the fields covered by the

awards. OFCM plans to continue this support in FY 2000. OFCM also supports

AMS endeavors by participating in AMS

conferences and workshops and other

environmental science education and outreach programs.

PUBLICATIONS AND OFCM'S

WEBSITE

The following publications were completed during FY 1999:

 The Federal Plan for Meteorological

Services and Supporting Research -

Fiscal Year 1999

 53rd Interdepartmental Hurricane

Conference (Minutes)

 National Hurricane Operations Plan

 National Winter Storms Operations

Plan

 National Aviation Weather Initiatives

 Directory of Atmospheric Transport

and Diffusion Consequence

Assessment Models

 Federal Meteorological Handbook

No. 12 (United States Meteorological

Codes and Coding Practices)

The following documents are planned

for publication during FY 2000:

 The Federal Plan for Meteorological

Services and Supporting Research -

Fiscal Year 2000

 54th Interdepartmental Hurricane

Conference (Minutes)

 National Hurricane Operations Plan

 National Plan for Post-Storm Data

Acquisition

 A National Framework for Volcanic

Ash Hazards to Aviation

 The National Space Weather

Program: Implementation Plan (2nd

edition)

During FY 1999, OFCM continued to

make substantial progress on its use of the

Internet. OFCM's domain name is

WWW.OFCM.GOV. In addition to information about the office, OFCM has placed

nineteen of its current publications on its

website. OFCM will continue to make

information available on the Internet during FY 2000.
APPENDIX B

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

APPENDIX B 133

AASERT Augmentation Awards for Science and Engineering Research Training (Army)

ABFM Airborne Field Mill (NASA)

ABCS Army Battle Command System (Army)

ABL Airborne Laser (AF)

AC Active Component (DOD)

ACARS ARINC Communication Addressing and Reporting System

ACE Aviation Combat Element (USMC)

ACP Atmospheric Chemistry Program (DOE)

ACU Acquisition Control Unit

ADAS AWOS/ASOS Data Acquisition System (FAA)

ADDS Aviation Digital Data Service (FAA)

ADEOS Advanced Earth Observing System (Japan)

ADLP Aeronautical Data Link Program (FAA)

ADWS Automatic Digital Weather Switch (AF)

AESS Allied Environmental Support System (Navy)

AF Air Force (USAF) 

AFB Air Force Base 

AFCCC Air Force Combat Climatology Center

AFCWC Air Force Global Combat Weather Center 

AFJI Air Force Joint Instruction

AFOS Automation of Field Operations and Services (NOAA/NWS)

AFW Air Force Weather

AFWA Air Force Weather Agency

AHPS Advanced Hydrologic Prediction System (NOAA/NWS)

AGFS Aviation Gridded Forecast System (FAA)

AIP Airport Improvement Program (FAA)

AIRMoN Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network (NOAA/OAR)

AIRS Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (NASA)

AL Aeronomy Laboratory (NOAA/ERL)

ALDARS Automated Lightning Detection and Reporting System (FAA)

AMC Army Matériel Command (Army)

AMDAR Automatic Meteorological Data and Reporting

AMOS Automated Meteorological Observing System (Navy)

AMSU Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit

AMU Applied Meteorology Unit (NASA)

ANG Air National Guard

AOC Aircraft Operations Center (NOAA)

AOML Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (NOAA/ERL)

AOPA Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

AOT Aerosol Optical Thickness

APT Automatic Picture Transmission

AR Army Regulation

ARAC Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (DOE)

ARG Accident Response Group (DOE)

ARGOS French Satellite Data Collection System 

ARINC Aeronautical Radio Incorporated

ARL Army Research Laboratory (Army)

Air Resources Laboratory (NOAA)

ARM Atmospheric Radiation Monitoring (DOE)

ARNG Army National Guard

ARO Army Research Office

ARS Agricultural Research Service (USDA)

ARSPACE Army Space Command

ARSR Air Route Surveillance Radar (FAA)
134 APPENDIX B

ARTCC Air Route Traffic Control Center (FAA)

ARTYMET Artillery Meteorological (Army)

ASD Atmospheric Sciences Division (DOE)

ASDAR Aircraft to Satellite Data Relay

ASOS Automated Surface Observing System 

ASR Airport Surveillance Radar (FAA)

ASTER Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer

ATC Air Traffic Control (FAA)

ATCCS Army Tactical Command and Control System

ATDD Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division (NOAA/ARL) 

AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (NOAA)

AVO Alaskan Volcano Observatory (DOI/USGS)

AWARDS Agricultural Water Resources Decision Support (DOI/BUREC)

AWC Aviation Weather Center (NOAA/NCEP)

AWDS Automated Weather Distribution System (AF)

AWIPS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing Systems (NOAA)

AWIS Automated Weather Information Systems 

AWN Automated Weather Network (AF)

AWOS Automated Weather Observing System (FAA)

AWR Aviation Weather Research (FAA)

BBS Bulletin Board System

BE Battlefield Environment (Army)

BED Battlefield Environment Directorate (Army)

BLM Bureau of Land Management (DOI)

BNL Brookhaven National Laboratory (DOE)

BUFR Binary Universal Form for the Representation of Meteorological Data

BUREC Bureau of Reclamation (DOI)

C2 Command and control (DOD)

C4I Command, Control, Communications, Computer and Information (DOD)

CAAM Computer Assisted Artillery Meteorology (Army)

CAP Civil Air Patrol

CAPARS Computer-Assisted Protective Action Recommendation System (DOE)

CARDS Comprehensive Aerological Reference Data Set (NOAA/NCDC)

CAWIS Committee for Automated Weather Information Systems (OFCM)

CDA Command and Data Acquisition 

CDAS Command and Data Acquisition Station 

CDFS Cloud Depiction and Forecast System (AF)

CECOM Communications and Electronics Command (Army)

CEMSCS Central Environmental Satellite Computer System (NOAA/NESDIS)

CENR Committee on Environment and Natural Resources

CERES Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (NASA)

CFEP Communications Front-End Processor (AF)

CHAMMP Computer Hardware Advanced Mathematics and Model Physics (DOE)

CIDE Communications Interfaces and Data Exchange (OFCM)

CINC Commanders-in-Chief (DOD)

CMFC Coordinating METOC Forecast Center (Navy)

COADS Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (NOAA/NCDC) 

COAMPS Coupled Oceanographic and Atmospheric Model (Navy)

COARE Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment

COE Corps of Engineers (Army)

COMEDS CONUS Meteorological Data System (AF)

COMET Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training

CONUS Continental United States 

COPC Committee for Operational Processing Centers (OFCM)

COTS Commercial Off-the-Shelf

CPC Climate Prediction Center (NOAA/NCEP)
APPENDIX B 135

CRADA Cooperative Research and Development Agreement

CRREL Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (Army)

CS Climate Services (OFCM) 

CSREES Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extensive Service (USDA)

CSSM Cloud Scene Simulation Model (AF)

CTB Comprehensive Test Ban (DOE)

CTWFC CINC Target Weather Forecast Center (AF)

CWSU Center Weather Service Unit (FAA)

CY Calendar Year

DCO Data Collection Office (NOAA/NWS)

DCP Data Collection Package

DCS Data Collection System (NOAA/NESDIS)

DDN Defense Data Network 

DF direction finder

DISS Digital Ionospheric Sounding System (AF)

DLP Data Link Processor (FAA)

DMCC DOE Meteorological Coordinating Council

DMSO Defense Modeling and Simulation Office (AF)

DMSP Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (AF)

DOC Department of Commerce 

DOD Department of Defense 

DOE Department of Energy 

DOI Department of Interior 

DOMSAT Domestic Communications Satellite

DOS Department of State 

DOT Department of Transportation

DPS Distributed Processing System (Navy)

DRGS Direct readout ground stations (DOI)

DURIP Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (Army)

DRWP Doppler Radar Wind Profiler (NASA)

DTSS Digital Topographic Support System (Army)

DUAT Direct User Access Terminal (FAA)

EDIS Environmental Data and Information Service (NOAA)

EMC Environmental Modeling Center (NOAA/NCEP)

ENSO El Niño-Southern Oscillation

EO electro-optical

EOS Earth Observing System (NASA)

EOSDIS EOS Data and Information System (NASA)

EOTDA electro-optical tactical decision aid (AF)

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

EPD Environmental Protection Division (DOE)

ERBS Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (NASA)

ERC Extended Research Checkout

ERL Environmental Research Laboratories (NOAA)

ESD/IPC Environmental Satellite Distribution/Interactive Processing Center (NOAA/NESDIS)

ESSP Earth System Science Pathfinders (NASA)

ETL Environmental Technology Laboratory (NOAA/ERL)

ETTP East Tennessee Technology Park (DOE)

ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (NASA)

EUMETSAT European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites

EUSA Eighth U.S. Army

EUV Extreme Ultraviolet

EXCIMS Executive Council for Modeling and Simulation (DOD)
136 APPENDIX B

FAA Federal Aviation Administration

FALOP Forward Areal Limited Observing Program (AF)

FCMSSR Federal Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research 

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency 

FHWA Federal Highway Administration

FIS Flight Information Services (FAA)

FLENUMMETOCCEN Fleet Meteorology and Oceanography Center, Monterey, California

FM Field Manual (Army)

FMF Fleet Marine Force

FMH Federal Meteorological Handbook (OFCM)

FNMOC Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (Navy)

FOA Field operating agency (AF)

FOSDIC Film Optical Sensing Device for Input to Computer

FORSCOM U.S. Army Forces Command

FRD Field Research Division (NOAA/ARL)

FRERP Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan (DOE)

FRMAC Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center (DOE)

FS Forest Service (USDA)

FSL Forecast Systems Laboratory (NOAA/ERL)

FTE Full-time Equivalent

FTP File Transfer Protocol

FU Forecast Unit

FY fiscal year 

G-IV Gulfstream IV (NOAA)

GAC Global Area Coverage

GAO General Accounting Office

GCCS Global Command and Control System (DOD)

GCIP GEWEX Continental-scale International Project (DOI)

GCOS Global Climate Observing System

GCPS Global Climate Perspectives System

GCRP Global Change Research Program

GDPS Global Data Processing System (WWP)

GEOSAR Geostationary Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (NOAA/NESDIS)

GEWEX Global Energy and Water-Balance Experiment

GFDL Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (NOAA/ERL)

GFMPL Geophysical Fleet Mission Program Library (Navy)

GHCN Global Historical Climatology Network

GIN Geomagnetic Information Nodes (DOI)

GIS Geographic Information System

GLONASS Global Navigation Satellite System

GMS Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (Japan)

GMSRA GOES Multi-Spectral Rainfall Algorithms (NESDIS)

GODAR Global Oceanographic Data Archaeology and Rescue

GOES Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (NOAA)

GOS Global Observing System (WWP)

GPCP Global Precipitation Climatology Program

GPS Global Positioning System

GPS/MET GPS for Meteorology

GRIB Gridded Binary (FM 92-X Ext.)

GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA)

GTS Global Telecommunications System (WWP)

GTSPP Global Temperature-Salinity Pilot Project

GTWAPS Global Theater Weather Analysis and Prediction System (AF)

HDSS Hierarchical Data Storage System

HELSTF High Energy Laser System Test Facility (Army)
APPENDIX B 137

HF high frequency

HFRB high frequency radio broadcast (DOD)

HPC Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (NOAA/NCEP)

HPCC High Performance Computing and Communications

HRD Hurricane Research Division (NOAA/ERL)

HRPT High Resolution Picture Transmission (NOAA/NESDIS)

HUD Head-up display (NASA)

IAMS Initial Attack Management System (DOI)

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization

ICMSSR Interdepartmental Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research 

ICSU International Council of Scientific Unions 

IEW Intelligence and Electronic Warfare (Army)

IFFA Interactive Flash Flood Analyzer (NOAA/NESDIS)

IFM Ionospheric Forecast Model (AF)

IHC Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference (OFCM)

IIP International Ice Patrol (USCG)

IMDES Interdepartmental Meteorological Data Exchange System 

IMETS Integrated Meteorological System (Army)

IMOSS Interim Mobile Oceanography Support System (Navy)

IMS Ionospheric Measuring System (AF)

INEEL Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (DOE)

INSAT India's Indian National Satellite (WWP)

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (WWP)

IPO Integrated Program Office

IR infrared

IRTSS Infrared Target Scene Simulation Software (AF)

ISCCP International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program

ISIS Integrated Solar Irradiance Study (NOAA/OAR)

ITCZ Inter-tropical convergence zone

ITS Intelligent Transportation System (FHWA)

ITWS Integrated Terminal Weather System (FAA)

IWEDA Integrated Weather Effects Decision Aid (Army)

IWRS Improved Weather Reconnaissance System

IWRPC Improved Weather Reconnaissance System Program Council

J-TRWS Joint TESS Remote Workstation (Navy)

JAG Joint Action Group

JASL Joint Archive for Sea Level

JAWOP Joint Automated Weather Observation Program (OFCM)

JCRMOD Joint Center for Research in the Management of Ocean Data

JEDA Joint Environmental Data Analysis

JGOFS Joint Global Ocean Flux Study

JMCIS Joint Maritime Command Information system (USMC)

JMFU Joint METOC Forecast Unit

JMOC Joint METOC Operations Center

JMS Joint METOC Segment (Navy)

JMV Joint METOC Viewer (Navy)

JPL Joint Propulsion Laboratory (NASA) 

JTWC Joint Typhoon Warning Center (AF/Navy)

KM Kilometer

KMR Kwajalein Missile Range (Army)

KSC Kennedy Space Center

LAC Local Area Coverage

LAN local area network
138 APPENDIX B

LANL Los Almos National Library (DOE)

LAPS Local Analysis and Prediction System (NOAA/FSL)

LCD Local Climatological Data

LCM life-cycle management

LDAR Lightning Detection and Ranging (NASA) 

LLNL Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (DOE)

LLWAS Low Level Wind Shear Alert System (FAA)

LLWAS-NE LLWAS-Network Expansion (FAA)

LLWAS-RS LLWAS-Relocation/Sustainment (FAA)

LRGS local readout ground stations (DOI)

MACOM Major Army Command

MAGTF Marine Air Ground Task Force

MAJCOM Major Command (AF)

MC Meteorological Codes

MCSST Multichannel Sea Surface Temperature (Navy)

MDCRS Meteorological Data Communications and Reporting System (WWP)

MDS Meteorological Distribution System (Army)

MEPED Medium Energy Proton and Electron Detector (NOAA/NESDIS)

MES Marine Environmental Services (OFCM)

MET Mobile Environmental Teams (Navy)

Meteorological Teams (Army)

METAR Aviation Routine Weather Report

METMF(R) Meteorological Mobile Facility (Replacement) (Navy)

METOC Meteorological and Oceanographic (DOD)

MHG Meteorological Hydrogen Generator (Army)

MIDDS METOC Integrated Data Display System (Navy)

MIMR Multifrequency Imaging Microwave Radiometer (NASA)

MIMS Multimedia Integrated Modeling System (EPA)

MISR Multi-Angle Imaging Spectrometer (NASA)

MME Mobile Meteorological Equipment (OFCM)

MMS Meteorological Measuring System (Army)

Mineral Management Service (DOI)

MMW Millimeter Wave (Army)

MOA Memorandum of Agreement

MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (NASA)

MOPITT Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (NASA)

MOS Manual Observing System (AF)

MOSS Mobile Oceanography Support System (Navy)

MPC Marine Prediction Center (NOAA/NCEP)

MRS Miniature Rawinsonde System (Navy)

MS Monitoring the Stratosphere (OFCM)

MSCP Meteorological and Climate Services Project (DOE)

MSL mean sea level

MSM Magnetospheric Specification Model (AF)

MST Meteorological Support Teams (USMC)

MSU Microwave Sounding Unit (NOAA/NESDIS)

MTF Model test facility (NOAA/NCEP)

MTN Main Telecommunications Network (WWP)

MTPE Mission to Planet Earth (NASA)

MWP Meteorologist's Weather Processor (FAA)

MWSS Marine Wing Support Squadron

NADIN National Airspace Data Interchange Network (FAA)

NAOS North American Atmospheric Observing System (NOAA)

NARSTO North American Research Strategy on Tropospheric Ozone (EPA)

NAS National Airspace System (FAA) 
APPENDIX B 139

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

NASS National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA)

NATCOM National Communications Center (FAA)

NAVAID Navigational Aid

NAVEURMETOCCEN Naval European Meteorology and Oceanography Center, Rota, Spain

NAVICECEN Naval Ice Center

NAVOCEANO Naval Oceanographic Office 

NAVLANTMETOCCEN Naval Atlantic Meteorology and Oceanography Center, Norfolk, Virginia

NAVPACMETOCCEN Naval Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

NAWPC National Aviation Weather Program Council (OFCM)

NBC Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (DOD)

NC NOAA Corps Operations

NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research 

NCDC National Climatic Data Center (NOAA/NESDIS)

NCEP National Center for Environmental Prediction (NOAA/NWS)

NCO NCEP Central Operations (NOAA/NCEP)

Non-commissioned officer (DOD)

NDBC National Data Buoy Center (NOAA/NWS)

NDI non-developmental item

NESDIS National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NOAA)

NESS National Environmental Satellite Service (NOAA)

NEST Nuclear Emergency Search Team (DOE)

NEXRAD Next Generation Weather Radar (WSR-88D)

NFDRS National Fire Danger Rating System (DOI/BLM)

NGDC National Geophysical Data Center (NOAA/NESDIS)

NGIC National Geomagnetic Information Center (DOI)

NHC National Hurricane Center (NOAA/NWS)

NHOP National Hurricane Operations Plan (OFCM)

NIC National Ice Center (DOT/USCG)

NIFC National Interagency Fire Center (DOI)

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology (DOC)

NITES Naval Integrated Tactical Environmental Subsystem

NMC National Meteorological Center(s) (WWP)

NMOC Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command

NMTN National Telecommunications Network (WWP)

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

NODC National Oceanographic Data Center (NOAA/NESDIS)

NODDS Naval Oceanographic Data Distribution System

NOGAPS Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System

NOHRSC National Operational Hydrological Remote Sensing Center (DOI)

NORAPS Navy Operational Regional Atmospheric Prediction System

NOS National Ocean Service (NOAA) 

NOWS NVG Operations Weather Software (AF)

NPL NOAAPORT Liaison (OFCM)

NPN NOAA Profiler Network

NPOESS National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System

NPS National Park Service (DOI)

NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA)

NRL Naval Research Laboratory

NSCAT NASA Scatterometer (NASA)

NSF National Science Foundation 

NSIDC National Snow and Ice Data Center

NSSL National Severe Storms Laboratory (NOAA)

NSTC National Science and Technology Council

NSWP National Space Weather Program (OFCM)

NTS Nevada Test Site (DOE)
140 APPENDIX B

NTSB National Transportation Safety Board 

NV Nevada Operations Office (DOE)

NVDS NOAA Virtual Data System

NVG night vision goggle (DOD)

NWLON National Water-Level Observation Network (NOAA/NOS)

NWS National Weather Service 

OAML Oceanographic and Atmospheric Master Library (Navy)

OAR Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (NOAA)

OASIS Oceanographic and Atmospheric Support and Information System (Navy)

Operational and Supportability Implementation System (FAA)

OCAP Operating Consortium of ASDAR Participants (WWP)

ODCSINT Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (Army)

ODCSOPS Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (Army)

OES Office of Earth Sciences (NASA)

OFCM Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology 

OGP Office of Global Programs (NOAA)

OMB Office of Management and Budget

ONR Office of Naval Research

OPARS Optimum Path Aircraft Routing System (Navy)

OR&F Operations, Research, and Facilities (NOAA/NWS)

ORA Office of Research and Applications (NOAA/NESDIS)

ORAU Oak Ridge Association Universities (DOE)

ORD Operational Requirements Documents (Navy)

OSDPD Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution (NOAA/NESDIS)

ORR Oak Ridge Reservation (DOE)

ORISE Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (DOE)

ORO Oak Ridge Operations (DOE)

OSF Operational Support Facility (NOAA)

OSO Office of Satellite Operations (NOAA/NESDIS)

OSTEP Ocean Systems Test and Evaluation Program (NOAA/NOS)

OTW Owning the Weather (Army)

OTIS Optimum Thermal Interpolation System (Navy)

OTSR Optimum Track Ship Routing (Navy)

OWSE Operational World Weather Watch Systems Evaluation (WWP)

PACS Polar Acquisition and Control Subsystem (NOAA/NESDIS)

PC Program Council (OFCM)

PCGRAFAX PC-based High Frequency Facsimile System (Navy)

PCMDI Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison (DOE)

PD Project Director (Army)

PIBAL Pilot Balloon

PICS PC Imaging Communications System (Navy)

PIREP Pilot Report

PMC Program Management Committee (NOAA)

PMEL Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (NOAA/ERL)

PNNL Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (DOE)

POM Princeton Ocean Model (Navy)

POPS Primary Oceanographic Prediction System (Navy)

PORTS Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (NOAA/NOS)

PSDA Post-Storm Data Acquisition (OFCM)

PUP Principal User Processor

QPF Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (NOAA/NCEP)

R&D Research and Development 
APPENDIX B 141

RAFC Regional Area Forecast Center (WWP) 

RAMDIS RAMM Branch Advanced Meteorological Satellite Demonstration and

Interpretation System (NOAA/NESDIS)

RAP Radiological Assistance Program (DOE)

RASS Radio Acoustic Sounding System (NOAA/OAR)

RAWS Remote Automatic Weather Station (USDA/DOI)

RC Reserve Component (DOD)

RDTE Research and Development, Test and Evaluation (Army)

RFETS Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (DOE)

RFC River Forecast Center (NOAA/NWS)

RMTN Regional Telecommunications Network (WWP)

RPC Rapid Prototype Center (NOAA/SEC)

RSMC Regional/Specialized Meteorological Centers (WWP)

RTH Regional Telecommunications Hub (WWP)

RUC Rapid Update Cycle (NOAA)

RVR Runway Visual Range (FAA)

RWIS Road Weather Information System (FHWA)

S2 Intelligence Section (Army)

SAA Satellite Active Archive

Snow Accumulation Algorithm (DOI/BLM)

SARSAT Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking

SBUV Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument (NOAA/NESDIS)

SDHS Satellite Data Handling System (AF)

SEC Space Environmental Center (NOAA/NCEP)

SEM Space Environment Monitor (NOAA)

SEON Solar Electro-Optical Network (AF)

SETT Space Environmental Technology Transition (AF)

SEU Single event upsets (AF)

SFDF Satellite Field Distribution Facility (NOAA/NWS)

SFMR Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer

SHEBA Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (DOE)

SIR-C Shuttle Imaging Radar-C (NASA)

SMDC Space and Missile Defense Command (DOE)

SMOOS Shipboard Meteorological and Oceanographic Observing Sensor (Navy)

SMS Semi-Automatic Meteorological Station (Army)

SNL Sandia National Laboratory (DOE)

SNOTEL Snow Telemetry (USDA)

SOCC Satellite Operations Control Center (NOAA/NESDIS)

SODAR Sound Detection and Ranging (DOE)

SOF Special Operations Forces (Army)

SOFWOC Special Operations Forces Weather Operations Center (AF)

SOLAS Safety of Life at Sea (NOAA/NCEP)

SORD Special Operations and Research Division (NOAA/ARL)

SPAWARS Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command

SPC Storm Prediction Center (NOAA/NCEP)

SPECI Aviation Selected Special Weather Report

SPOSC Shared Processing Operations Steering Committee

SR Savannah River (DOE)

SRBL Solar Radio Burst Locator (AF)

SRS Savannah River Site (DOE)

SSU Stratospheric Sounding Unit (NOAA)

STIWG Satellite Telemetry Interagency Working Group (OFCM)

STP Solar-Terrestrial Physics

STT Small Tactical Terminal (AF)

SWE Snow Water Equivalent (DOI/BUREC)

SWIM Solar Wind Interplanetary Measurements (AF)
142 APPENDIX B

SWO Staff weather officer

SXI Solar X-Ray Imager (AF)

T2 Technology transfer

TAF Aerodrome Forecast

TAO Tropical Atmosphere Ocean

TACWX Tactical weather (DOD)

TAWS Tactical Acquisition Weather Software (AF)

TDA Tactical Decision Aid (Army)

TDWR Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (FAA)

TEA-21 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (FHWA)

TEC Topographic Engineering Center (Army)

TECOM Test and Evaluation Command (Army)

TED Total Electron Detector (NOAA/NESDIS)

TESS Tactical Environmental Support System (Navy)

TF Terminal Forecast

TFS Tactical Forecast System (AF)

TIROS Television Infrared Observation Satellite (NOAA/NESDIS)

TMI TRMM Microwave Imager (NASA)

TOC Tactical Operations Center (Army)

TOE Table of Organization and Equipment (Army)

TOFS Tactical Observing and Forecasting System (AF)

TOGA Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere 

TOMS Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (NASA)

TOPEX Topography Experiment (NASA)

TOVS TIROS N Operational Vertical Sounder (NOAA/NESDIS)

TPC Tropical Prediction Center (NOAA/NCEP)

TRACON Terminal Radar Approach Control (FAA)

TRADOC Training and Doctrine Command (Army)

TRMM Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (NASA)

TWP Tropical Western Pacific (DOE)

TWR Tactical Weather Radar (AF)

UARS Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (NASA)

UAV unmanned/uncrewed aerial vehicle (Army/NASA) 

UCAR University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

UN United Nations 

UNEP United Nations Environment Program (WWP)

USA U.S. Army

USAES U.S. Army Engineer School

USAF U.S. Air Force 

USAFAS U.S. Army Field Artillery School

USAIC&FH U.S. Army Intelligence Center & Fort Huachuca

USAKA U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll

USAR U.S. Army Reserve

USAREUR U.S. Army Europe

USARIEM U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

USARPAC U.S. Army Pacific

USARSO U.S. Army South

USASMDC U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command

USASOC U.S. Army Special Operations Command

USCG U.S. Coast Guard 

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture 

USGS U.S. Geological Survey

USHCN U.S. Historical Climatology Network

USIABP U.S. Interagency Arctic Buoy Program (NOAA/NESDIS)

USMC U.S. Marine Corps
APPENDIX B 143

USN U.S. Navy

USWRP U.S. Weather Research Program

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (Zulu)

UV Ultraviolet

VA Volcanic Ash 

VAS VISSR Atmospheric Sounder 

VCI/TCI Vegetation and Temperature Condition Indices

VCP Voluntary Cooperation Program

VIRS Visible and Infrared Scanner (NASA)

VISSR Visible and Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer 

VOS Voluntary Observing Ship (WWP)

WAFC World Area Forecast Center (WWP)

WAFS World Area Forecast System (WWP) 

WAM Wave model (Navy)

WAOB World Agricultural Outlook Board (USDA)

WARP Weather and Radar Processor (FAA)

WDC World Data Center (WWP)

WEFAX Weather Facsimile 

WES Waterways Experiment Station (Army)

WETM Weather Team (DOD)

WFMIS Wildland Fire Management Information Site (DOI)

WFO Weather Forecast Office (NOAA/NWS)

WG Working Group

WIDA Weather Impact Decision Aids (AF)

WINDS Weather Information and Display System (DOE)

WIST Weather Information for Surface Transportation (FHWA)

WMC World Meteorological Center(s) (WWP)

WMO World Meteorological Organization 

WMSCR Weather Message Switching Center-Replacement (FAA)

WOCE World Ocean Circulation Experiment

WPDN Wind Profile Demonstration Network (NOAA)

WRD Water Resources Division (DOI/USGS)

WSC Warfighting Support Center (Navy)

WSFO Weather Service Forecast Office (NOAA/NWS)

WSMO Weather Service Meteorological Office (NOAA/NWS)

WSMR White Sands Missile Range (Army)

WSO Weather Service Office (NOAA/NWS)

WSP Weather Systems Processor (FAA)

WSR-88D Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (NEXRAD)

WST Weather Support Team (Army)

WSU Weather Support Unit (AF)

WWP World Weather Program 

WWW World Weather Watch (WMO)

World wide web 
APPENDIX C

PREVIOUS FEATURE ARTICLES

APPENDIX C 145

1998 FY 1999 Aviation Weather: Taking A Leadership Role FAA's Aviation Weather Policy Division

(ARW-100) Staff

1997 FY 1998 Owning The Weather--An Army Force Mr. Richard J. Szymber, Army

Multiplier

1996 FY 1997 Space Weather - A New Challenge for Col Jud Stailey, USAF

Meteorologists

1995 FY 1996 The Role of Federal Agencies in International Mr. Blaine K. Tsugawa, OFCM

Aviation Meteorology

1994 FY 1995 Data Continuity in the Climatological Record Dr. Nathaniel B. Guttman, NCDC

Mr. Andrew H. Horvitz, NWS

Mr. Arthur L. Booth, NOAA-EOSDIS

1993 FY 1994 Training and Professional Development in the Mr. Eli Jacks, NWS

Modernized Weather Services Mr. LeRoy Spayd, NWS

1992 FY 1993 Mesoscale Meteorology Mr. Floyd F. Hauth, OFCM

1991 FY 1992 Some Recent Developments in Lightning Dr. Donald R. MacGorman, NOAA

Mapping Systems Dr. Frederick R. Mosher, NOAA

Ms. Jan S. Lewis, NOAA

1990 FY 1991 The Next Generation Weather Radar - Mr. E. Don Sarreals, NEXRAD JSPO 

A System for Locating and Tracking 

Severe Weather

1989 FY 1990 Strategic Plan for the Modernization and Verbatim reproduction of a plan

Associated Restructuring of the required by Congress and submitted

National Weather Service by DOC and OMB

1988 FY 1989 Supercomputers for Meteorological Services (Source or author unknown)

and Supporting Research
APPENDIX D

GOALS AND ORGANIZATION

The WWP goals to extend the time,

accuracy, range, and scope of weather

prediction and to understand the physical basis of climate and climatic

change. The ability of the United

States and other nations to use their

existing scientific capability to understand the climate and to increase their

weather predicting skills is limited by

the lack of global weather data.

Available weather data are inadequately observed over 80 percent of the

Earth's surface and mostly over the

oceans; coverage over the remaining

20 percent is, in places, barely adequate.

Development of the technology and

the systems to obtain these observations, especially over the oceans, presents formidable problems. With the

use of satellites, aircraft, ships, radar,

anchored and drifting buoys, and balloons, however, an integrated system

can be developed to observe and collect comprehensive data about the

atmosphere over the entire globe. This

system is too complex to be implemented by a single nation--a fact clearly recognized by the leaders of many

nations whose international cooperation in meteorology has been a tradition for more than a century. In 1961,

this continuing need for international

cooperation prompted the President of

the United States to propose to the

United Nations (UN) the establishment

of an international effort in weather

prediction. The UN responded by calling upon the World Meteorological

Organization (WMO) and the

International Council of Scientific

Unions (ICSU) to develop measures to

improve weather forecasting capabilities and to advance the knowledge of

the basic physical forces that determine climate.

The WMO, with 186 members, is a

specialized agency created by the UN

to facilitate international cooperation

in the fields of meteorology and

hydrology. The WMO responded to

the UN request with the concept of the

World Weather Watch (WWW), an

operational system to bring the global

atmosphere under improved surveillance and to provide for the rapid collection and exchange of weather data

as well as for the dissemination of

weather products from centralized processing centers.

More recently, the WMO, through its

commission structure, is working

towards the design and implementation

of improved observations for a Global

Climate Observing System (GCOS)

through enhancements to the Global

Observing System (GOS) and other

appropriate measures. These efforts

are expected to yield an enhanced GOS

for both operational and research purposes and are part of the effort to

strengthen the WMO's commitment to

improve the understanding of climate

and related environmental matters, as

articulated by the Second World

Climate Conference in 1990 and

repeated at the UN Conference on the

Environment and Development.

The responsibilities of United States

federal agencies in the WWP are as

follows:

 Department of Commerce (DOC).

Represents the United States at

WMO and, through the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA), provides

the focal point to coordinate our

Nation's efforts in these international programs, implements those

service improvements in the existing international weather system

for which the United States accepts

responsibility, and develops new

technology.

 Department of State (DOS).

Maintains relations with developing nations and, through NOAA

and the WMO, assists developing

nations in improving their national

weather services. DOS also develops appropriate multilateral and

bilateral arrangements to further

international participation.

 National Science Foundation

(NSF). Stimulates and supports

basic research by non-government

scientists on atmospheric and

ocean circulations and modeling.

It also promotes the education and

training of atmospheric and ocean

scientists at universities.

 Department of Defense (DOD).

Although the mission of DOD

weather services is basically internal, the nature of DOD's operations is global. As such, the observation, telecommunications, and

data-processing programs of the

military weather services provide

significant indirect support to the

WWW through DOD's interface

with NOAA's National Weather

Service (NWS). Information from

the research and development

activities of these services is

WORLD WEATHER PROGRAM

The Department of Commerce (DOC) was designated by the President, following Senate Concurrent Resolution 67

(1968), to be the lead agency for coordinating United States participation in the World Weather Program (WWP). Until

1983, DOC published a separate report on WWP Plans. Beginning with the 1983 edition of the Federal Plan for

Meteorological Services and Supporting Research, a section on the WWP has been included, obviating the need for a

separate report. The last segment of this narrative includes information on bilateral and regional international cooperative activities which are not under the WWP.

APPENDIX D 147
148 APPENDIX D

exchanged routinely with other

similar national agencies and is

often presented at national forums.

 Department of Transportation

(DOT). Through the United States

Coast Guard, provides personnel

to support NOAA's National Data

Buoy Center (NDBC) in developing, operating, and evaluating data

buoy systems. Coast Guard cutters

and aircraft provide operational

support to deploy, service, and

retrieve buoys built for test or

operational purposes. DOT's

observation and telecommunications programs also provide significant indirect support to the WWW

through DOT's interaction with the

NWS.

 National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA). Performs

research and develops space technology required for an effective

global weather system.

THE WORLD WEATHER WATCH

The WWW is an integrated system

which functions on three levels--global,

regional, and national. The WWW is

divided into three essential elements

that are closely linked and interdependent--the Global Data Processing

System (GDPS), Global Telecommunication System (GTS), and GOS.

These elements are coordinated and

closely integrated through three

WWW support functions: (1) the data

management function coordinates,

monitors, and manages the flow of

data and products within the WWW

system to assure their quality and timely delivery. It also includes the definition and use of code forms for data

exchange; (2) the systems support

activity provides guidance, technical

and scientific information, and training

to those involved in the planning,

development, and operation of WWW

components; and (3) the implementation and coordination function assures

the timely completion of the WWW

implementation and effective support

and maintenance of the WWW system.

Global Observing System

The GOS is a coordinated system of

methods, techniques, and facilities for

making weather observations on a

worldwide scale. It is a composite system containing surface-based and

space-based (satellite) subsystems.

The main elements of the subsystem

are:

 Regional, basic-synoptic networks, manned and automated, for

both surface and upper-air observations.

 Fixed sea stations, composed of

ocean weather stations, fixed and

anchored platform stations, and

island and coastal stations.

 Mobile sea stations, including

moving ships and drifting buoys.

 Aircraft meteorological stations,

including automated aircraft

reporting systems.

The space-based (satellite) subsystem provides vital support for meteorological and hydrological predictions

and warnings. The use of satellites

enables the routine collection of environmental observations from even the

most remote locations. Two categories

of satellites are used: polar orbiters

and geostationary.

Presently, operational meteorological

satellites in polar orbits are operated by

Russia (the METEOR-3 series) and the

United States. The United States operates the civilian NOAA Polar-orbiting

Operational Environmental Satellite

(POES) series along with the Defense

Meteorological Satellite Program

(DMSP) series of polar-orbiting spacecraft. NOAA currently launches satellites, alternately, into afternoon and

morning orbits to maintain an uninterrupted stream of global data. The current operational NOAA polar-orbiting

satellites are NOAA-14 (launched in

an afternoon orbit in December 1994)

and NOAA-12 (launched in a morning

orbit in May 1991). The current operational DMSP polar-orbiting satellites

are F-12 (launched in August 1994),

F-13 (launched in March 1995), and F-14

(launched in April 1997). 

Operational geostationary weather

satellites are currently operated by

Japan, India, Russia, the United States,

and the European Operational Satellite

Consortium (EUMETSAT). Japan's

Geostationary Meteorological Satellite

(GMS) is positioned at 140o

E, India's

Indian National Satellite (INSAT) is at

74o

E, Russia's GOMS/Elektro #1 satellite is at 76o

E (operational since June

1996), and EUMETSAT's METEOSATis

at 0o. The United States normally operates two Geostationary Operational

Environmental Satellites (GOES)--one

at 75o

W and the other at 135oW.

GOES-8, launched in April 1994, is

operational at 75o

W and GOES-9,

launched in May 1995, is operational

at 135o

W. The China-GOES FY2 was

launched June 10, 1997.

To help ensure data continuity from

geostationary orbit, NOAA has signed

a long-term mutual back-up agreement

with EUMETSAT. The successful

launch of GOES-10 now gives the

United States an on-orbit spare capability reducing the impact when

GOES-8 or GOES-9 fails.

In the future, NOAA's POES will be

combined with the DMSP to form a converged system called NPOESS (National

Polar-orbiting Operational

Environmental Satellite System).

NOAA, DOD, and NASA are working

together to implement NPOESS and have

created an Integrated Program Office

(IPO). NOAA heads the IPO and is

responsible for operating the NPOESS

and for relations with national and international civilian users of the system.

DOD has the lead responsibility for

NPOESS acquisitions, launch, and systems integration. NOAA will facilitate

the development and incorporation of

new, cost-effective technologies to

enhance the NPOESS capabilities.

Negotiations continue with the Europeans

for their assumption of NOAA's morning

polar orbit mission just after the turn of

the century. This complements longstanding plans by NOAA and the meteorological operational satellites.
APPENDIX D 149

Broadcast of data from both the

NOAA and GOES series of United

States satellites is free, unrestricted,

and does not require any prior notification. Data can be received directly by

any properly-equipped ground station

within the satellites' line-of-sight. The

United States, through NOAA, develops information and products from

these data for further distribution over

the GTS.

The WWW is a flexible system

which can be adapted to changing

technology and operational conditions.

The latest technological and scientific

developments in observations, data

processing, and telecommunications

are under constant review with an eye

towards improving the GOS, GDPS,

and GTS. 

Over the last few years, several systems intended to improve the operation

of the GOS have continued to undergo

development and deployment. Among

these systems is the family of automated aircraft reporting systems known as

the Automated Meteoro-logical Data

and Reporting (AMDAR) systems.

This family of systems includes the

Aircraft to Satellite Data Relay

(ASDAR) System and the ARINC

Communications Addressing and

Reporting System (ACARS). ARINC

is Aeronautical Radio Incorporated--a

wholly owned subsidiary of the airlines. ASDAR uses a dedicated onboard processor connected to the aircraft avionics system and transmits

observations automatically via the

meteorological geosynchronous satellites of the International Data

Collection System (IDCS). ASDAR

uses hardware which was developed in

the 1980's and was fitted to the aircraft,

requiring relatively expensive and

time-consuming certification and

installation. It has the important

advantage of using the meteorological

satellite communications facility

which is free for this type of message.

On the other hand, ACARS uses the

plane's own avionics system thus

requiring no certification or alteration

to the airframe. It does, however, use

the airlines' communications system

which could entail communication

costs.

To date, a total of 20 units out of the

23 ASDAR systems originally purchased have been fitted on aircraft are

operational and reporting. Ten units

are operational on aircraft of British

Airways, three on KLM, two each on

aircraft of Air Mauritius and South

African Airways, and one each on aircraft of SAUDIA, Lufthansa, and

Aerolineas Argentinas. An additional

unit is being installed on an aircraft of

SAUDIA; the final ASDAR installation will be installed on a second

Boeing 747 of Aerolineas Argentinas

in September 1998. ASDAR transmits

one observation every 7 minutes in

level flight and observations are also

made at selected pressure levels in

ascent and descent. The number of

observations per day received from

any one unit depends on how long the

particular aircraft is in the air. This

number of observations could be as

high as 280, but on average the number

per day is about 150. For the total

ASDAR-equipped fleet, the average

number of reports received is about

1,400 daily (due to routine maintenance of the aircraft and when the unit

is inoperative). With regard to data

coverage, about 50 percent of the

ASDAR-equipped aircraft fly between

Europe and North America, and the

others to destinations in Asia, Africa,

Australia, and South America. More

than 85 percent of reports are received

at Bracknell, United Kingdom within 1

hour and 99 percent within 2 hours.

ASDAR data quality is high with a

typical rate of rejected reports of less

than 1 percent of all reports.

The United States AMDAR program,

called Meteorological Data Communications and Reporting System

(MDCRS), began in the early 1980's

and is a cooperative effort among

ARINC, the NWS, and the FAA. It

grew slowly in the first 10 years, but

has grown rapidly during the decade of

the 1990's. Over 47,000 reports of

wind and temperature are sent every

day in the Binary Universal Form for

Representation of Meteorological Data

(BUFR) code. These MDCRS reports

are provided by four airlines: Delta,

Northwest, United, and United Parcel

Service (UPS). American Airlines has

just joined the program and will provide the full suite of data; Federal

Express has agreed to supply their

flight following data that includes

weather information transmitted every

30 minutes. 

Two new MDCRS programs are

being developed: water vapor and turbulence. A new water vapor sensor

was installed on a UPS B-757 aircraft

and, over the next several years, up to

160 units are slated for installation on

UPS and other airlines for a full test

and evaluation of the sensor. A new

turbulence algorithm, developed by the

National Center for Atmospheric

Research (NCAR) is being installed on

approximately 200 United Airlines aircraft. Plans call for the turbulence

algorithm to be installed on other carriers as well.

Large quantities of weather reports,

particularly over oceanic and other

data-sparse areas, will be realized via

satellite communications and navigation systems. This source of data is of

interest to the United States and others

of the international aeronautical community, especially Numerical Weather

Prediction (NWP) Centers including

World Area Forecast Centers

(WAFCs).

The Forty-Ninth Session of WMO's

Executive Council (Geneva, June

1997) endorsed a proposal by the

Operating Consortium of ASDAR

Participants (OCAP) that a Panel on

Aircraft Meteorological Data

Reporting composed of Members of

WMO that operate, or intend to operate, national AMDAR Programs to

coordinate and promote global

AMDAR development be established.

The Inaugural Meeting of the AMDAR

Panel was held in Geneva at WMO
150 APPENDIX D

Headquarters from March 17-20, 1998.

Thirteen members and seven international organizations took part in the

meeting.

In addition to these aircraft-based

systems, other observation systems are

being deployed to improve the GOS.

For example, there has been deployment of substantial numbers of drifting

buoys. A number of nations, including

the United States, have implemented

experimental or quasi-operational networks or single sites of ground-based

Doppler radars called wind profilers to

provide nearly continuous wind soundings. A network of 32 tropospheric

wind profilers is being operated quasioperationally at 404 MHZ primarily in

the central part of the United States.

Some threat exists to their continued

operation because of the likely sale of

the 404 MHZ frequency. Three new

profilers operating at 449 MHZ are

being installed in the State of Alaska

later in 1998. Also a significant number of boundary layer profilers are

being installed to monitor air quality.

All the data from the tropospheric profilers are available on the GTS and on

the Internet.

To improve the methodology used in

developing and deploying observing

systems, NOAA in 1997, established

the North American Atmospheric

Observing System (NAOS) program.

The group has representatives from

several federal agencies along with

representatives from Canada and

Mexico. NAOS objectives are to:

(1) define a cost-effective, requirements-driven "best mix" of observing

platforms and instruments and

(2) reduce observing system risks and

uncertainties. While the initial focus

of the program will be to modernize

the composite upper-air network,

NAOS is expected to guide the

resource-allocation process for most

future observing systems developed

and/or fielded by NOAA. Several

projects of NAOS have been undertaken to assess the utility of the MDCRS

data in numerical models, including

the impact of replacing some numbers

of rawinsonde sites with MDCRS

soundings, an assessment of forecaster

use of MDCRS, and the impact on

short-range forecasting. These two

studies are planned to be concluded in

1998.

The concept of the Operational

WWW Systems Evaluation (OWSE)

has also been developed as a framework for regional implementation.

The OWSE-Africa, which was created

to evaluate the very extensive use of

METEOSAT to improve telecommunications and data availability in Africa,

has been completed. It was designed

to implement and test the data collection system for receipt of meteorological observations from various countries in Africa. Thus far, approximately 100 data collection platforms have

been installed in Kenya, Ethiopia,

Ghana, Sudan, Nigeria, Sierra Leone,

Zaire, Egypt, Madagascar, St. Helena,

Guinea, and Cape Verde. Evaluations

have been carried out to gauge the

improvement of observation receipt

and preliminary results show that highreceipt rates are achieved when systems are operating. Further, results

indicate that high-receipt rates may be

achieved for data originating in Africa,

but infrastructure and main-tenance

issues remain in order for full operational deployment to be successful.

Efforts are underway to design and

implement a GCOS, building upon the

WWW, Global Atmospheric Watch,

Integrated Global Ocean Services

System, and other existing systems to

further the knowledge and understanding of climate and the prediction of climate and climate change. Efforts to

date have established planning groups

to address needs and requirements for

atmospheric, oceanic, and land-surface

data. Upper-air and surface-observing

networks are being defined to provide

basic measurements for the GCOS.

Links to existing organizational structures are being established and a high

priority has been given to making

observational enhancements.

Global Data Processing System

The purpose of GDPS is to make

available all processed information

required for both real-time and nonreal-time applications. GDPS provides

products and processed information,

based on recent advances in atmospheric science, using powerful numerical computer methods. Members

have real-time, unrestricted access

through the GTS to GDPS products

which allow all countries to benefit

from their participation in the WWW. 

The GDPS is organized as a threelevel system. It consists of World

Meteorological Centers (WMC),

Regional/Specialized Meteorological

Centers (RSMC), and National

Meteorological Centers (NMC).

NMCs carry out GDPS functions at the

national level. In general, real-time

functions of the system involve preprocessing of data including real-time

quality control, analysis, and prognosis, including derivation of appropriate

meteorological parameters. The nonreal-time functions include data collection and archival, and additional quality control, storage, and retrieval, to

include cataloging observational data

and processed information for operational and special applications and for

research.

WMCs are located in Melbourne,

Moscow, and Washington; they provide products used for general short,

medium, and long-range weather forecasts on a global scale. Melbourne

specializes in forecast products for the

Southern Hemisphere.

The RSMCs with geographical specialization are located at Algiers,

Algeria; Antananarivo, Malagasy;

Beijing, China; Bracknell, United

Kingdom; Brasilia, Brazil; Buenos

Aires, Argentina; Cairo, Egypt; Dakar,

Senegal; Darwin, Australia; Jeddah,

Saudi Arabia; Khabarovsk, Russia;

Lagos, Nigeria; Melbourne, Australia;

Miami, Florida; Montreal, Canada;

Moscow, Russia; Nairobi, Kenya; New

Delhi, India; Novosibirsk, Russia;

Offenbach, Germany; Rome, Italy;
APPENDIX D 151

Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Tokyo, Japan;

Tunis, Tunisia; Washington D.C.,

United States; and Wellington, New

Zealand.

RSMCs with activity specialization

are found at The European Center for

Medium Range Forecasts; Réunion

Island (France); Toulouse, France; and

Washington D.C., United States.

The regional centers at Bracknell,

Miami, Montreal, New Delhi, and

Tokyo have dual geographical and

activity specialization responsibilities.

These centers provide regional products used for short and medium-range

forecasting of small, mesoscale, and

large scale meteorological systems by

WMCs. Products of RSMCs can be

used by members at the national level

for further processing or interpretation

to provide assistance or service to

users.

In the World Area Forecast System

(WAFS), two centers (Washington and

London) are designated by the

International Civil Aviation

Organization (ICAO) as World Area

Forecast Centers (WAFC). They issue

upper-wind and temperature forecasts

with global coverage to associated

Regional Area Forecast Centers

(RAFC). The regional centers also

prepare and distribute forecasts of

weather elements defined by ICAO as

significant weather.

The gradual implementation of the

final phase of the WAFS has begun and

will continue over the next few years.

The planned final phase call for the

two WAFCs to prepare and issue computer-based wind and temperature

forecasts as they now do. In addition,

those centers will automate all of the

significant weather elements. While

some of these elements are now prepared automatically, others are developed through forecaster-initiated

graphic interaction.

The dissemination of aeronautical

information via global satellite broadcast began in 1995. The United States

provides the links to two of the three

satellites specified in the system.

Global Telecommunication System

The GTS provides communication

services for the collection, exchange,

and distribution of observational data

and processed information among the

WMCs, RSMCs, and NMCs of the

WWW to meet the member needs for

real-time or quasi-real-time exchange

of information for both operational and

research purposes. The GTS also supports other WMO programs, joint programs with other inter-national organizations, and environmental programs

as decided by the WMO Congress and

is organized on three levels:

 The Main Telecommunication

Network (MTN).

 The Regional Meteorological

Telecommunication Networks

(RMTN).

 The National Meteorological

Telecommunication Networks

(NMTN).

The GTS is supported by the

telecommunications functions of the

WMCs, Regional Telecommunications

Hubs (RTH), RSMCs, and NMCs.

The MTN links the WMCs at

Melbourne, Moscow, and Washington

with the RTHs at Algiers; Beijing;

Bracknell; Brasilia; Buenos Aires;

Cairo; Dakar; Jeddah; Maracay,

Venezuela; Nairobi; New Delhi;

Norrköping, Sweden; Offenbach;

Prague; Rome; Sofia; Tokyo;

Toulouse; and Wellington. It ensures

the rapid and reliable exchange of

observa-tional data and processed

information required by the members.

The RMTNs consist of an integrated

system of links which interconnects

RTHs, NMCs, and RSMCs to WMCs.

The RMTNs provide for the collection

of observational data and the selective

distribution of meteorological information to member nations.

In summary, the GTS enables the

NMCs to receive and distribute observational data and meteorological information to meet the requirements of

members. Ongoing WWW activities

include:

 GTS network redesign to take into

consideration new technical

opportunities, such as Internet-like

services.

 Improvement of the capacity of

MTN links and inclusion of graphics (e.g., Washington-Brasilia,

Washington-Buenos Aires,

Washington-Tokyo). 

 Continued implementation of

satellite-serviced data collection

platforms to enhance the collection of meteorological data from

upper-air and surface-observing

sites.

 Continued implementation of

satellite direct-readout stations that

are compatible with polar-orbiting

satellites and the WEFAX (weather facsimile) component of the

geostationary satellites.

Voluntary Cooperation Program (VCP)

From the beginning of WWW, it was

clear that all countries need better

weather observations and improved

communications systems. To help

remedy deficiencies and to fully implement the WWW, the WMO established

a Voluntary Assistance Program in

1967. The name of the program was

changed to Voluntary Cooperation

Program (VCP) in 1979.

The WMO-VCP helps the developing countries to implement the WWW

program by providing equipment,

services, and long-term and short-term

study fellowships. Since the inception

of the VCP, the United States has provided short-term fellowships in electronics, communications, operation

and maintenance of weather data collection systems and electrolytic hydrogen generators, and tropical meteorology and river flood forecasting to students from more than 50 countries.

Long-term fellowships, through which

the students receive baccalaureate or

advanced degrees, have been completed by candidates from over 48 countries. Highest priorities are given to

those facilities needed to support the

global aspects of WWW. The goal of
152 APPENDIX D

VCP is to eliminate deficiencies in

global observations and communications and to establish ground-readout

stations for Automatic Picture

Transmission reception so that the

countries may benefit more fully from

weather satellite services.

The DOS provides funding for VCP

projects with NOAA administering and

carrying out programs designed to aid

meteorological/hydrological and climate projects in recipient countries. 

VCP Projects for include:

 Implementation and updating of

surface and upper-air observational programs in the tropics, the

Southern Hemisphere, and Africa

as resources and priorities permit.

 Support of WAFS implementation

and utilization.

 Continued support for the implementation of VCP projects in Latin

America and the Caribbean areas

in support of the hurricane and

tropical storm programs.

BILATERAL AND REGIONAL

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE

PROGRAMS

United States - Peoples Republic of

China Protocol in the Field of

Atmospheric Science and Technology

For more than 15 years, this protocol

has covered a broad area of research

and operational activities in the field of

atmospheric science and technology.

Program areas include the following:

 Climate Studies (which includes

scientific experiments and research on

monsoons and Tropical Ocean

Global Atmosphere).

 Mesoscale Meteorology (which

includes operational techniques for

forecasting torrential rains).

 Training and Participation.

 Atmospheric Chemistry.

 Satellite Meteorology and

Meteorological Satellites.

 Modernization Activities.

The cooperative activities between

the United States and China under this

program have decreased over the past

2 years. The main cooperative activity

has been within the Training and

Participation Program with a dozen

Chinese scientists and trainees working at NOAA facilities for up to 18

months.

United States-Mexico Meteorological

and Hydrologic Program

The United States and Mexico have

signed a new cooperative agreement

enhancing the scope of their cooperation in the fields of meteorology,

hydrology, and climatology which

began over 50 years ago. The new

agreement facilitates the following

activities:

The establishment, operation,

maintenance, and repair of meteorological and hydrologic observation

systems in Mexico.

 The international dissemination of

observations from these systems.

 The exchange of meteorological,

hydrologic, and related data and

products between the United States

and Mexico.

 The cooperation necessary to

assure prompt transmission

through telecommunications networks of these data and products.

 The coordination and training

related to the exchange of data and

products between the National

Meteorological Services of both

countries.

Over the past few years, the Mexican

Meteorological Service has undergone

an impressive modernization effort,

which included upgrading upper-air

observation systems, installing

Doppler weather radars, and establishing hundreds of auto-matic weather

stations. This cooperative agreement

will facilitate the exchange of data and

information to the benefit of both

countries.